Editing Volunteer (botany)

[[File:Volunteer sunflowers.jpg|thumb|Volunteer [[Common sunflower|sunflower]]s growing on the field that is now used for another cultivar, in Switzerland]]
In [[gardening]] and [[agronomy|agronomic]] terminology, a '''volunteer''' is a plant that grows on its own, rather than being deliberately planted by a [[farmer]] or [[Gardening|gardener]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Davey |first=J. |year=2007 |title=Crop Ferality and Volunteerism |journal=Annals of Botany |volume=99 |issue=1 |pages=205–206 |doi=10.1093/aob/mcl244 |pmc=2802985}}</ref> The action of such plants — to sprout or grow in this fashion — may also be described as '''volunteering'''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://plantsliteraturelife.tripod.com/v.html|title=Plant Literature - V|accessdate=18 October 2017}}</ref>

==Background==
Volunteers often grow from [[seed]]s that float in on the [[wind]], are dropped by [[bird]]s, or are inadvertently mixed into [[compost]]. Some volunteers may be encouraged by gardeners once they appear, being watered, fertilized, or otherwise cared for, unlike [[weed|weeds]], which are unwanted volunteers. 

Volunteers that grow from the seeds of specific [[cultivar]]s are not reliably identical or similar to their parent and often differ significantly from it. Such [[Open pollination|open pollinated]] plants, if they show desirable characteristics, may be selected to become new cultivars.

==Agriculture==
[[File:Maize in soybean field, Monroe Township cropped.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Maize]] growing in a soybean field in the central United States]] 

In [[Crop rotation|agricultural rotations]], self-set plants from the previous year's crop may become established as weeds in the current crop. For example, volunteer [[winter wheat]] will germinate to quite high levels in a following [[Rapeseed|oilseed rape]] crop, usually requiring chemical control measures. 

In agricultural research, the high purity of a harvested crop is often desirable. To achieve this, typically a group of temporary workers will walk the crop rows looking for volunteer plants, or "rogue" plants in an exercise typically referred to as "[[roguing]]".

==See also==
*[[Domestication]]
*[[Escaped plant]]
*[[Hemerochory]]
*[[Invasive species]]
*[[Noxious weed]]
*[[Weed]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Botany]]
[[Category:Crops]]
[[Category:Horticulture]]
[[Category:Drug control law]]
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