Future Needs in Weed Science

Weed Science ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 850-855 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. G. McWhorter
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Weed Control ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
The United States ◽  
Grain Drying ◽  
Direct Competition ◽  
The Cost ◽  
And Storage

Losses due to weeds in the United States and the cost of their control are now more than $20 billion annually (35). Of this total, $13 billion represents a 10% annual loss in agricultural production that includes not only the direct competition of weeds to reduce crop yields but also the reduced quality of produce, livestock losses, and increased cost of fertilizer, irrigation, harvesting, grain drying, transportation, and storage. In addition, farmers spend more than $7.2 billion to control weeds each year. About 43% of the expenditures to control weeds is the retail cost of herbicides, $3.1 billion, in 1980 (15). The value of herbicides sold in 1984 will probably be about 15% higher than in 1980. An additional $4.1 billion represents the cost of tillage and hand labor required for weed control (35). The total loss of over $20 billion represents an indirect annual weed tax of about $85 on each individual living in the United States.

Rice weed control: current technology and emerging issues in temperate rice

1994 ◽  
Vol 34 (7) ◽  
pp. 1021 ◽  
Author(s):  
JE Hill ◽  
RJ Jr Smith ◽  
DE Bayer
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Weed Control ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Weed Species ◽  
Rice Culture ◽  
Emerging Issues ◽  
Direct Seeded ◽  
The Cost

Among temperate rice areas, the United States and Australia are most similar in climate and in the mechanisation of rice culture. Many weed problems, even weed species invading rice, are common to both countries; and the present technology for weed control as well as concern for the impact of these technologies to environmental quality, herbicide resistance, and other weed-related issues bear many similarities. Application of current, and any new, technologies to emerging issues in US rice weed control will therefore be directly relevant to rice production in Australia and all other temperate areas struggling with the same challenges. Weeds are a significant problem in temperate rice culture. In the United States, rice is mechanically direct-seeded, allowing weeds to germinate and establish with the crop. In the last 15 years weed growth and competition has been increased by the adoption of semi-dwarf cultivars, high N fertilisation, and, in water-seeded rice, shallow flooding. High rates, and often multiple applications, of herbicides have been necessary to maximise the yield potential of these cultural systems. Advances in cultural practices and herbicide technology have maintained, if not improved, weed control; but nearly 30 years of propanil use in the southern USA resulted in propanil-resistant barnyard grass Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) Beauv., and after 4 years of continuous use, bensulfuron resistance to 4 aquatic weed species was discovered in California. Although herbicides with different mechanisms of action are needed for alternation in resistance management strategies, fewer are likely to be available. Social and environmental concerns have slowed the development and registration of rice herbicides and increased the cost of controlling weeds. Water quality deterioration from ricefield tailwaters, drift to sensitive crops, the cost of renewing registration in aquatic systems, and weed resistance all forecast reduced herbicide use in rice. Neither cultural practices nor herbicides alone can solve weed problems in direct-seeded, mechanised rice culture. With fewer herbicides and a cultural system highly vulnerable to weed losses, integrated management strategies with better information on which to base weed control decisions will be needed to solve weed problems in temperate rice.

scholarly journals Analyse des effets de l’assurance et de la relation de confiance consommateur-producteur sur les possibilités d’abus des chirurgiens

2009 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georges Dionne
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Excess Capacity ◽  
Full Information ◽  
Real Cost ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Very High ◽  
Full Insurance

Abstract The object of this paper is to analyse the effects of insurance and of the relation of trust between consumer and producer on the possibilities of fraud by the producer. Fraud is defined as the provision of unnecessary services to a consumer who does not possess full information about the quality of his purchase. The possibilities of fraud increase with insurance. In particular, they are very high with full insurance since real cost of search tends to infinite. Also we verify that good trust between consumer and producer limits search activities. We apply this model to the market of surgeons in the United States. This market reflects the main characteristics of the model: the consumer is not well informed, the relation of trust is important, the cost of search is high, the service is largely insured and there is excess capacity.

scholarly journals Cropland expansion in the United States produces marginal yields at high costs to wildlife

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler J. Lark ◽  
Seth A. Spawn ◽  
Matthew Bougie ◽  
Holly K. Gibbs
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Prairie Pothole Region ◽  
Monarch Butterfly ◽  
The United States ◽  
Wildlife Habitat ◽  
Northern Great Plains ◽  
Prairie Pothole

Abstract Recent expansion of croplands in the United States has caused widespread conversion of grasslands and other ecosystems with largely unknown consequences for agricultural production and the environment. Here we assess annual land use change 2008–16 and its impacts on crop yields and wildlife habitat. We find that croplands have expanded at a rate of over one million acres per year, and that 69.5% of new cropland areas produced yields below the national average, with a mean yield deficit of 6.5%. Observed conversion infringed upon high-quality habitat that, relative to unconverted land, had provided over three times higher milkweed stem densities in the Monarch butterfly Midwest summer breeding range and 37% more nesting opportunities per acre for waterfowl in the Prairie Pothole Region of the Northern Great Plains. Our findings demonstrate a pervasive pattern of encroachment into areas that are increasingly marginal for production, but highly significant for wildlife, and suggest that such tradeoffs may be further amplified by future cropland expansion.

Cost-Effectiveness of a Targeted Disinfection Program in Household Kitchens To Prevent Foodborne Illnesses in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom

2003 ◽  
Vol 66 (11) ◽  
pp. 2103-2115 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEVEN B. DUFF ◽  
ELIZABETH A. SCOTT ◽  
MICHAEL S. MAFILIOS ◽  
EWEN C. TODD ◽  
LEONARD R. KRILOV ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
High Risk ◽  
The United States ◽  
Foodborne Illnesses ◽  
Cost Effectiveness Ratio ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Cost

Foodborne illnesses impose a substantial economic and quality-of-life burden on society by way of acute morbidity and chronic sequelae. We developed an economic model to evaluate the potential cost-effectiveness of a disinfection program that targets high-risk food preparation activities in household kitchens. For the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, we used published literature and expert opinion to estimate the cost of the program (excluding the educational component); the number of cases of Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections prevented; and the economic and quality-of-life outcomes. In our primary analysis, the model estimated that approximately 80,000 infections could be prevented annually in U.S. households, resulting in $138 million in direct medical cost savings (e.g., physician office visits and hospitalizations avoided), 15,845 quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) gained, $788 million in program costs, and a favorable cost-effectiveness ratio of $41,021/QALY gained. Results were similar for households in Canada and the United Kingdom (Can $21,950/QALY gained and £86,341/QALY gained, respectively). When we evaluated implementing the program only in U.S. households with high-risk members (those less than 5 years of age, greater than 65 years of age, or immunocompromised), the cost-effectiveness ratio was more favorable ($10,163/QALY gained). Results were similar for high-risk households in Canada and the United Kingdom (Can$1,915/QALY gained and £28,158/QALY gained, respectively). Implementing a targeted disinfection program in household kitchens in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom appears to be a cost-effective strategy, falling within the range generally considered to warrant adoption and diffusion (<$100,000/QALY gained).

scholarly journals Technology Influence on Product Quality, Speed of Delivery and Cost

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Product Quality ◽  
Traditional Method ◽  
The United States ◽  
The People ◽  
Research Experiment ◽  
Method Of Production ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Cost

This paper explores the hypothesis that technology can be used to improve product quality, speed up delivery and reduced cost. For companies improving the quality of their products, reducing the cost and improving the speed of delivery makes them favorable to the client who feels like all their needs have been met. The research occurs between the months of January 2018 to April 2018 which is about four months. The research experiment design uses the pretest-posttest experimental design set up between two companies both using the traditional method of manufacturing with no technology. In one company technology is introduced while in the other company the process remains the same traditional method of production. Both companies analyze the results at the end of a four-month period before a conclusion is drawn from both the pretest and the final test. The experiment results show that technology improves quality of the product, improves the speed of delivery while at the same time reduce cost benefiting both the producer and the client. Technology should, therefore, be implemented in companies to give them an edge over the competition. With technology in companies, the United States can reclaim production from overseas companies that have taken over by providing cheap labor. Better satisfied customers mean more production which in turn means more jobs for the people in the United States.

Exploring Cost and Quality of Medicare in the United States using Analytics

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Viju Raghupathi ◽  
Wullianallur Raghupathi
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Quality Of Care ◽  
Healthcare Spending ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Number Of Discharges ◽  
Uninsured Population ◽  
Regional Cost ◽  
National Effort

In this research, the authors explore the association of cost and quality of care indicators for Medicare in the United States. Using analytics they offer a portfolio of influencing factors and geographic areas that are most and least expensive for Medicare recipients. The cost indicator includes Medicare charges; the quality of care indicators include hospital location, number of discharges, readmissions, mortality rate, age, percentages of uninsured population and population aged 65 and older. The results indicate that Medicare cost is not positively associated with quality of care, suggesting that patients in higher-priced facilities do not necessarily receive better quality of care. Moreover, there are regional cost variances for the same procedure. The authors show how a national effort to standardize costs of heart-related Medicare procedures could result in substantial savings in healthcare spending. They offer healthcare agencies and hospitals actionable insights for improving operational efficiency and providing more affordable care.

scholarly journals Horticulture Needs More Weed Scientists

HortScience ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 653a-653
Author(s):  
Larry J. Kuhns ◽  
Tracey L. Harpster
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Weed Control ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The United States ◽  
Graduate Courses ◽  
Weed Science ◽  
Horticultural Crops ◽  
Faculty Teaching

Weeds must be controlled to produce marketable crop yields, for human safety, and for aesthetic reasons. Physical methods of weed control are highly labor and/or energy intensive, and in many cases are more dangerous to crops and people than herbicides. They are not practical solutions to most weed problems in developed countries. To properly work with and apply herbicides, researchers, and applicators should have a knowledge base that includes information on weed taxonomy, anatomy, and biology; herbicide chemistry and modes of action; spray adjuvants and carriers; soil characteristics and environmental factors that affect herbicide performance; application equipment technology; the development of herbicide resistance; alleleopathy; and the biological control of weeds. Herbicide use, in terms of product used or expenditures, is greater by a wide margin than that of insecticides and fungicides combined. Also, about two thirds of all pesticides produced in, and exported from, the United States are herbicides. Finally, about 40% of all of the herbicides used in the world are used in the United States. Only 32% of the insecticides and 14% of the fungicides are used in the United States. On the average, the leading universities in the country have only three faculty teaching courses in weed science, and they teach only two undergraduate and three graduate courses each year. Few are in horticulture. By comparison, there are 15 faculty teaching 13 undergraduate and 19 graduate courses in the leading entomology programs in the country. Weed control is an essential element in the production and management of all horticultural crops. Who is going to provide the education and training in weed science for the researchers, horticulturists, and consultants of the future?

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