An online decision support tool to evaluate ecological weed management strategies

摘要: Weeds remain the most commonly cited concern of organic farmers. Without benefit synthetic herbicides, farmers must rely on a host ecological weed management (EWM) practices to control weeds. Despite EWM’s ability improve soil quality, perceived rate integrated EWM strategy adoption remains low. This low is likely result complexity in designing and evaluating strategies, tendency for outreach focus risks strategies rather than their benefits, lack quantitative measures linking performance farmers’ on-farm objectives practices. Here we report development deployment an easy-to-use online decision support tool (DST) that aids identifying objectives, characterizing practices, recommended by expert advisory panel. Informed principles structured making, DST uses multiple choice tasks help evaluate short- long-term trade-offs while also focusing attention important objectives. We then invited across United States, particular those whose email addresses were registered USDA’s Organic Research Integrity Database, engage online. Results show considerable movement participants’ (n = 45) preferences from focused reducing weeding costs labor short term improving quality long term. Indeed, nearly half (48%) who initially ranked composed current highest ultimately preferred better-performing eliminating seedbank over 5 yr.