Done in by dandelions, foiled by milfoil, run over by clover?

It's time for the world series of weeds. Cornell will host the 2010 Northeastern Collegiate Weed Science Contest July 27 at the university's Homer Thompson Vegetable Research Farm in Freeville, N.Y.

The purpose of the contest is to provide an educational experience for students in agricultural and environmental related fields of study who have a special interest in weed science. Undergraduate and graduate student teams participate in four contest segments: weed identification, herbicide identification, sprayer calibration and on-farm problems. A record number of students -- 105 registered from as far away as Florida, Canada and the Midwest -- are expected to attend this year's contest.

Institutions fielding teams in this year's contest include: Michigan State University, North Carolina State University, Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, Purdue University, University of Florida, University of Guelph, University of Illinois, University of Maryland and Virginia Tech. The Northeast Weed Science Society and weed science faculty and staff in Cornell's Departments of Horticulture and Crop and Soil Sciences are organizing the contest.