FROM MICROBES TO DRONES: DIVERSIFYING AGROECOSYSTEMS TO MANAGE HERBICIDE RESISTANCE

Objective 1. Elucidate the individual and interactive effects of agronomic practices on soil microbial communities and weed seed bank dynamics (research objective).Objective 1a. Assess the effects of crop rotations, nitrogen availability, and herbicide treatments on microbial communities and weed seedbank decay.Objective 1b. Evaluate the association between soil microbial communities, plant soil feedbacks, and microbially mediated crop-weed competitive interactions.Objective 2. Determine changes in crop yield and weed communities as a function of crop rotation, nitrogen availably, and herbicide treatments.Objective 3. Build predictive models for weed phenology, community composition, and crop yield changes using ground truth validation, UAS data, and image analysis.Objective 4. Develop and deliver education and extension materials on the use of crop rotations for sustainable crop production (extension and education objective).Objective 4a. Develop and deliver a transformative extension program on ecologically based approaches to manage problematic weeds in semi-arid cropping systemsObjective 4b. Include research outcomes into undergraduate and graduate courses and training.