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Analysis of sampling precision in low-density weed populations

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Abstract

Site-specific weed management (SSWM) can provide significant herbicide savings but requires the reliable detection of weed populations. In this work, the effect of sample size on sampling precision was studied in four sub-field areas of winter cereals infested with Galium aparine. Plots of 1170 m2, 4212 m2, 2592 m2 and 2880 m2 were marked and the positions of all G. aparine individuals were recorded using a precise navigation system. Mapping cells of 3 m × 3 m were arranged over experimental data and then various sampling intensities of G. aparine populations were simulated. The relative root mean square error, mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), and false negative rate were calculated and plotted against individual sampling intensities. Regressions were fitted to non-linear models. Experimental plots had relatively low mean densities of G. aparine (1.00–2.98 plants m−2) and the spatial distributions of plants were patchy in all cases. The values of all error measures decreased with increasing sampling intensity. On the basis of the fitted model, keeping MAPE below 30% required the sampling of 32.2% of the total area for the low-density population and 13.4% for the highest-density population. The results presented demonstrate that reliable sampling of low-density populations requires a very high sampling intensity and could be helpful in the design of reliable sampling strategies for SSWM.

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Data availability

Original data sets analysed during this study are included in supplementary information files.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Institutional Support Program for Long Term Conceptual Development of Research Institutions provided by Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic. We would like to give special thanks to Theresa Reinhardt Piskackova, Ph.D. for English proofreading.

Funding

This work was supported by the Institutional Support Program for Long Term Conceptual Development of Research Institutions provided by Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic.

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  1. Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Department of Agroecology and Crop Production, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 16521, Prague 6, Czech Republic

    Pavel Hamouz & Kateřina Hamouzová

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  1. Pavel Hamouz
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  2. Kateřina Hamouzová
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Both authors contributed to the study conception and design, material preparation, data collection. Analysis were performed by PH. The first draft of the manuscript was written by PH and both authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Pavel Hamouz.

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Hamouz, P., Hamouzová, K. Analysis of sampling precision in low-density weed populations. Precision Agric 23, 603–621 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11119-021-09851-6

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