IPMwise

Opportunities with IPMwise

IPMwise consists of dynamical online tools designed for primarily students, farmers and crop advisors to assist in identifying legal and optimized weed control measures also in line with principles of IPM. The tools provide updated options for weed control and insight into factors affecting needs for control and factors affecting expected efficacies of control measures(herbicides and mechanical control).

IPMwise can help in both strategical planning, before a new growing season, and tactical considerations during af growing season.

The foundation of IPMwise is publically available data from applied weed research in which interactions between crops, weeds, weed growt stages, temperatures, drought stress, herbicides and mechanical control have been analyzed. To fill gaps when data is missing, estimates from experts have been used. In IPMwise the interactions and relations have been systematized in practically applicable databases and functions.

IPMwise contains recommendations for weed control in most arable crops in Denmark.

Mechanical control
Presently, an increasing number herbicide products are banned or restricted in use, and an increasing number of weeds become resistant to more and more herbicide mode-of-actions (MOA). Therefore, the need for alternative control measures increases too. Consequently, mechanical control is an important method to complement herbicides - in particular in crops, where a limited assortment of herbicides is available or those are relatively expensive. Mechanical control has been integrated in the tools where herbicides are also recommended. In this way, control measures will be recommened in line with needs for control according to IPM. In the present version of IPMwise, mechanical control is available in the following crops:

• Winter oil-seed rape: hoeing in crops sown on a relatively wide row spacing
• Maize and sugar beet: hoeing in relatively late crop growth stages (after BBCH stage 15), where the crops tolerate relatively intense treatment, and where alternative herbicide treatments (against big weed plants, which have survived previous herbicide treatments) are relatively expensive