Stephen J. Toth, Jr., Pest Management Information Specialist
Wayne G. Buhler, Pesticide Education Specialist

Volume 12, Number 8, July 12, 2002

As technology transfer continues to grow exponentially, informational weed-identification resources available over the World Wide Web are increasing tremendously in both quantity and quality. As an example, I recently consulted a major search engine to identify weed-identification sites. The result--26,800 sites were listed. What do I even consider a starting point? Of course, not all of these sites are necessarily useful for our purposes or pertain to this area of the United States. I have several web-based resources that I find particularly helpful that I thought that I’d share with you, perhaps at least saving you some of the frustration of sorting through the myriad of links. For weed identification purposes on a practical basis, check out the following:

http://ag.fmc.com/ag/weedbug/. FMC’s site provides clear images of not only weeds, but other pests as well.

http://www.rce.rutgers.edu/weeds/. Rutgers University’s site has a wide collection of weed images that may be sorted by common or scientific name.

http://www.ppws.vt.edu/weedindex.htm. Virginia Tech’s weed identification site may be the most useful in the United States. It includes a very nice grass-seedling taxonomic key with top quality images that allow the user to easily navigate the identification dilemma and find an answer. Species of weeds may also easily be sorted, and each species page contains at least several images along with well-written descriptions.

http://www.psu.missouri.edu/fishel/. Missouri’s site has the vast majority of weeds that we will encounter in agronomic settings in our state. This site also contains several simple-to-use taxonomic keys to assist the user in narrowing down an identification.

We all receive questions regarding plant toxicity, so here are a couple of sites that I find to be very helpful with information in regards to livestock and/or humans:

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/poison.htm. N.C. State University has a comprehensive listing of toxic plants that may be sorted in several ways with information on the toxic chemicals found within the plant and symptoms that the animal may display. Image quality is outstanding.

http://www.vet.purdue.edu/depts/addl/toxic/cover1.htm. In addition to an alphabetical plant listing, Purdue University’s site allows the user to sort plants by toxicity rating or animal species affected.

http://www.vth.colostate.edu/poisonous_plants/report/search.cfm. Colorado State University’s site has a search feature that the user can input clinical signs of poisoning and obtain a list of possible plant suspects. As with many other sites, plants may be sorted by common or scientific name.

There are too many excellent informational sites to list for the purposes of this article. The few that are listed I find to be valuable on a day-to-day basis and will hopefully provide answers to your daily activities.

Source: Integrated Pest & Crop Management Newsletter, Volume 12, Number 13, University of Missouri-Columbia, June 7, 2002

Employment and program opportunities are offered to all people regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability. North Carolina State University, North Carolina A&T State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and local governments cooperating.

Last modified on July 12, 2002 by Stephen J. Toth, Jr.