Topics of interest and type of activities of the EWRS Working Group Weed Management in Mediterranean Cropping Systems: results of the questionnaires

Abstract

Recently, there has been a restructuring of the working groups of the European Weed Research Society (EWRS). The coordinators of the new group “Weed Management in Mediterranean Cropping Systems” have prepared in September 2023 a survey to find out the interest of potential participants in terms of thematic priorities, type of activities and collaboration with other working groups. There were 54 responses from the EWRS, with 9 from Spain (ES). The SEMh (Sociedad Española de Malherbología) distributed the same questionnaire, obtaining 20 additional responses, so 29 responses were received from people linked to this country. Regarding the topic, participants from other countries (OP) considered the invasive species, the control of weeds in irrigated lands and the effect of climate change on weed management as “very relevant” in 56% of the answers. Minimum tillage and direct sowing obtained 51% and specific species 49%. On the other hand, participants from ES considered “very relevant” weed management in woody crops (71%), herbicide resistance (68%) and the management of specific species (61%). Regarding activities, form work networks (76% OP, 57% ES) and organize webinars (71% OP, 61% ES) were considered most interesting proposals. Regarding coordination with other working groups, the preferences were quite different for people from OP and ES. We hope that thanks to these results, interesting activities can be organized for the scientific and technical community that work on weed science in this climatic zone.