Velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti) interference in soybean (Glycine max): a survey of yield loss estimates and management recommendations

Abstract Velvetleaf plants were placed between 76 cm soybean rows at a density of one velvetleaf every 6.1 m of row in early September. Later that month, farmers and agricultural-industry employees who were attending a university field day were asked to predict the yield loss caused by this infestation. The average yield loss estimate by 90 farmers was 5.7%, whereas 45 agricultural-business employees predicted a 5.3% yield loss. NebraskaHERB, an economic threshold/post-emergence decision making tool developed at the University of Nebraska, predicted a 4.3% yield loss from this weed infestation. Recommendations for managing the velvetleaf were influenced by the person's yield loss estimate. Recommendations made by industry personnel were closer to the computer based decision judgement than those of farmers.