Survey of Beginning Weed Science Courses

Abstract

A mail survey was undertaken in 1991 to obtain information on beginning weed science courses being taught in the United States and Canada. Out of 74 questionnaires sent to 44 states and 7 provinces, there were 54 responses of which 49 institutions had a beginning weed science course. The responses showed that these courses are taught primarily once a year (88%) in the fall term (77%). Most schools are under the semester system (82%) with the credits arranged so that there are about 30 hours of lecture per term with a one-credit laboratory. The students in beginning weed science courses are mostly seniors (47%) and juniors (34%) and are primarily from Agronomy, Plant Science, or Crop Science departments (46%) and Horticulture (23%). The average time spent on different topics agreed well with the priorities and are listed in the text. The survey also gathered data on weed identification requirements, special requirements of individual courses, evaluation of students, additional comments by instructors, and special teaching guides or techniques that instructors are willing to share with others.