The 2016 Manitoba general & herbicide-resistant weed surveys are supported by the commodity associations and will be carried out collaboratively by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development and the University of Manitoba. The survey requires 600 hundred fields to be selected at random and stratified by eco-region based on the acres seeded to the crops included in the survey: wheat, barley, oats, corn, canola, flax, and for the first time, sunflower and soybean. The 2016 survey data provides farmers with information on the current composition and distribution of weed species. Information on more than 150 unique weed species detected in previous Manitoba general weed surveys (~3000 fields) is contained in a weed community database. Inferences on how changes in cropping systems and agronomic practices impact weed composition and prevalence can be made by comparing the 2016 results with those from previous surveys. This data also allows for the identification of new and emerging weed issues.
A targeted herbicide-resistant weed survey will help identify the expanding resistant populations and assess current management of herbicide-resistant weeds. The herbicide-resistant weed survey will be conducted on a randomized sub-sample (~200) of the 600 fields identified for the general weed survey. Seeds from weeds with known or suspected populations of herbicide-resistance in Manitoba will be collected.