Printing:
Seedling
Barnyard grass
Juvenile
Barnyard grass
Mature
Barnyard grass
We would like to acknowledge the training and advice received from the
Barbara Sharanowski lab at the University of Central Florida and much
behind-the-scenes support from Tactica Interactive and the U of MB Plant
Science greenhouse and office staff.
Thanks to everyone who brought in weeds to identify or helped test the
grass key; to Jordan Bannerman who assisted with photography training,
and to Aldo Rios, who illustrated key characters and lent moral and
photographic support. Illustrations were supported by the University of
Manitoba Faculty of Agriculture Endowment Fund.
Special thanks all of our beta-testers and to the Mobile-IPM team, especially
Ana Dal Molin, for her continued input and guidance.
• Interactive, polyclave (multiple-entry) keys were developed using
Lucid Builder 3.3, exported using the open Structured Descriptive
Data (SDD 1.1) standard and made public through a customized
application interface.
• The species included were based on regional crop weed lists.
• Research was conducted on taxonomic descriptions of each weed.
• Species were grown from seed or observed in the field and
photographed at each life stage.
• A fact sheet was prepared for each species that lists all
characteristics and includes photos of all life stages
A new tool for grass and broadleaf identification on cropland in Western CanadaJo-Anne Joyce, Doug Cattani, Rob Gulden| Dept. of Plant Science| University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2 Email: [email protected]
Grass and broadleaf identification keys are being developed as part of a free mobile application (Mobile-IPM) by the University of Manitoba.
Mobile-IPM is designed to help Canadian farmers identify pests, and implement effective integrated pest management strategies. Components include:
This poster focuses on the
Weed identification tool.
The Weed ID tool consists of 2 keys:
-Grassy weeds (grasses, sedges and rushes) – available online and to be tested in real time, using your cell phone
-Broadleaf weeds – in development
Mobile-IPM’s weed ID tool will allow users to :
-Identify the 200 most common weeds of cropland in Western Canada (MB, SK and AB)
-Use a mobile phone to identify a weed while in the field, or with a sample in hand.
-Identify weeds at any life stage (seedling, juvenile, maturity)
An interactive identification tool for crop pests
(insects, weeds & disease)
A real-time pest monitoring and forecasting tool
A crop management tool
Methods
Weed ID Beta-test Procedure
Acknowledgements
Project Overview
Weedy Grasses of Cropland in Western Canada is available for beta-
testing at: https://ipm-devl.ad.umanitoba.ca/identify.
Live plant material is available to identify during the poster viewing so you may test the
Weed ID tool using your phone.
Start by loading the
app via SQ or URL.
Choose ‘Pest
Identification
Pest identification
What’s an auricle?
Click on the Help
button (?) for a
definition.
Next, choose a part of
the plant to focus on. In
this example, we’ve
chosen ‘Base of Leaf’.
This is a good set of
characters to start with
when identifying
grasses.
Choose ‘Weedy
Grasses of Cropland
in Western Canada’
The more features you
identify, the more precise
the results become.
Notice the number of
options in the top right-
hand corner has
decreased. Click on that
number to access species
matches.
Your plant lacks auricles
and ligules, the stem is
smooth and compressed.
Your grass doesn’t
appear to have
auricles, but you
check the options
anyway. You check the
illustrations, and
reaffirm that your
plant lacks
auricles. You
choose ‘Auricles
absent’.
Notice the number
at the top right
corner of the
screen. It
indicates the total
number of species
in the key.
Your plant is probably
Barnyard grass. Check the
photo, and click on
‘Details’ to make sure all
the characters fit.
If the result is not a good
fit for your plant, you may
check other close
matches, submit a photo,
or press the ‘Feedback’
button to send an email to
the first author.
