Though they have never been explicitly compared to real weeds, surrogate weeds have been used for decades as substitutes for problem agricultural weeds in studies of physical weed control efficacy. In order to develop effective alternatives to herbicides, physical weed control implements must be designed to be more effective and less variable. To this end, efficiency in research tactics is imperative, but is it detrimental to depend on crop species used as stand-ins for weeds rather than the real thing?