Weed management

Introduction:
A weed in a general sense is a plant that is considered to be a nuisance, and normally applied
to unwanted plants in human-made settings such as gardens, lawns or agricultural areas, but also in
parks, woods and other natural areas. More specifically, the term is often used to describe native or
non-native plants that grow and reproduce aggressively. Generally, a weed is a plant in an undesired
place. Weeds are plants that under certain conditions cause economic and social harm to the
farmers.Weeds continue to exist, because the environment is continually being disturbed to create
open conditions for new generations, such as forest fires and human activity.
Weeds may be unwanted for a number of reasons: they might be unsightly, or crowd out or
restrict light to more desirable plants or use limited nutrients from the soil. They can harbour and
spread plant pathogens that infect and degrade the quality of crop or horticultural plants. Some
weeds are a nuisance because they have thorns or prickles, some have chemicals that cause skin
irritation or are hazardous if eaten, or have parts that come off and attach to fur or clothes.
The term weed in its general sense is a subjective one, without any classification value, since
a "weed" is not a weed when growing where it belongs or is wanted. Indeed, a number of "weeds"
have been used in gardens or other cultivated-plant settings.

Characteristics of weeds:
1. Weeds generally produce large numbers of seeds.
2. Weed seeds can often germinate under a variety of conditions, but some portion of the seed
population remains dormant. Dormant weed seeds are insurance against conditions that might
destroy growing plants.
3. Many weeds develop rapidly, are able to self-pollinate, disperse widely and tolerate a wide range
of environmental conditions.
4. Most of the dominant weed species in tropical and subtropical areas are the C4 photosynthesis
plants, which are better adapted to a hot and dry environment, having enhanced water absorption
and a more efficient use of soil moisture and sunlight.

Why bother about weeds:

1. Weeds can compete with productive crops or convert productive land into unusable scrub.
2. Weeds are also often poisonous, distasteful or otherwise interfere with the use and
management of desirable plants by contaminating harvests.
3. Weeds tend to thrive at the expense of the more refined edible or ornamental crops. They
compete for space, nutrients, water and light.
4. Tall growing vigorous weeds can have the most pronounced effects on adjacent crops.
5. Perennial weeds with bulbils or with persistent underground stems are able to store reserves
of food, and are thus able to grow faster and with more vigour than crop species.
6. There is also evidence that the roots of some perennials exude allelopathic chemicals which
inhibit the growth of other nearby plants.
7. Weeds can also host pests and diseases that can spread to cultivated crops.
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 8. In most of the poor or developing countries, however, the small farmer and his/her family
usually spend more than 40 percent of their time in hand weeding, which limits agricultural
productivity and the improvement of their standard of living and culture.

Methods of weed control:

It is for these reasons that weed management should be part of plant protection or, rather, of
the area devoted to plant production.
1. Preventative methods (legal and quarantine procedures, and others at the farm level):
The methods to prevent the introduction and spread of species are many but the most
important are those of a legal nature, which prohibit the movement and/or entry of certain
types of imported commodities of plant origin or impose certain restrictions to the entry of
such material.
2. Chemical methods (use of herbicides):
Well-applied herbicides can be an effective means to control weeds. However,
previous training of farmers in their correct use and safe handling is required. The repeated
use of the same herbicide, a common practice in areas of monocropping, should be avoided
to prevent high weed infestations that are tolerant to the herbicide, and to prevent herbicide
resistance in the longer term.
3. Biological methods (classical methods through the introduction of exotic natural enemies and
increasing the population of already existing natural enemies):

Invasive species

Invasive species is a phrase with several definitions.

1. It is a non-indigenous species (e.g. plants or animals) that adversely affect the habitats they
invade economically, environmentally or ecologically.

2. The second definition broadens the boundaries to include both native and non-native species
that heavily colonize a particular habitat.

3. An invasive species is a widespread non-indigenous species

Because of the ambiguity of its definition, the phrase invasive species is often criticized as an
imprecise term within the field of ecology

Species-based mechanisms of invasion

Species-based characteristics focus on competition. While all species compete to survive,

invasive species appear to have specific traits or combinations of specific traits that allow them to
outcompete native species. Sometimes they just have the ability to grow and reproduce more rapidly
than native species. Common invasive species traits include:

* The ability to reproduce both asexually as well as sexually

* Fast growth
* Rapid reproduction
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 * High dispersal ability
* Phenotypic plasticity (the ability to alter one’s growth form to suit current conditions)
* Tolerance of a wide range of environmental conditions
* Ability to live off of a wide range of food types
* Association with humans
* Other successful invasions
An introduced species might become invasive if it can out-compete native species for
resources such as nutrients, light, physical space, water or food. Invasive species often coexist with
native species for an extended time, and gradually the superior competitive ability of an invasive
species becomes apparent as its population grows larger and denser and it adapts to its new location.
An invasive species might be able to use resources previously unavailable to native species,
such as deep water sources accessed by a long taproot, or an ability to live on previously uninhabited
soil types.

Facilitation is the mechanism by which some species can alter their environment using
chemicals or manipulating abiotic factors, allowing the species to thrive while making the
environment less favorable to other species with which it competes. One such facilitative mechanism
is allelopathy, also known as chemical competition or interference competition. In allelopathy a
plant will secrete chemicals which make the surrounding soil uninhabitable, or at least inhibitory, to
competing species.

Ecological impacts

1. Biological species invasions alter ecosystems in many ways. As highly adaptable and generalized
species are introduced to environments already impacted by human activities, some native species
may be put at a disadvantage to survive while other species survival is enhanced.

2. Land clearing and human habitation put significant pressure on local species. This disturbed
habitat is prone to invasions that can have adverse effects on local ecosystems, changing
ecosystem functions.

3. Multiple successive introductions of different nonnative species can have interactive effects; the
introduction of a second non-native species can enable the first invasive species to flourish.

4. Invasive species can change the functions of ecosystems. For example invasive plants can alter the
fire regime, nutrient cycling , and hydrology in native ecosystems.

5. Invasive species that are closely related with rare native species have the potential to hybridize
with the native species. Harmful effects of hybridization have led to a decline and even extinction
of native species. Thus, natural, wild species can be threatened with extinction through the process
of genetic pollution.

6. Economic costs from invasive species can be separated into direct costs through production loss in
agriculture and forestry, and management costs of invasive species.

7. Many weed species are accidental introductions with crop seeds and imported plant material.
Many introduced weeds in pastures compete with native forage plants, are toxic (e.g., Leafy

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 Spurge, Euphorbia esula) to young cattle (older animals will avoid them) or non-palatable because
of thorns and spines

8. The unintentional introduction of forest pest species and plant pathogens can change forest
ecology and negatively impact timber industry.

9. Invasive species can have impacts on recreational activities such as fishing, hunting, hiking,
wildlife viewing, and water-based recreation. They negatively affect a wide array of
environmental attributes that are important to support recreation, including but not limited to water
quality and quantity, plant and animal diversity, and species abundance.

Methods of Weed Control

As much as 80 percent of the land preparation and other operations carried out during the
crop cycle are essentially for controlling weeds. Weed management decisions vary according to
plant life cycles, infestation size, environmental parameters and management objectives.

Preventive Control
Prevention — The backbone of any successful weed management strategy is prevention.
 It is important to prevent the introduction of seeds into the field through
sources like irrigation water or manure.
 Have a long, diverse rotation
 Sow clean seed
 Prevent weed seed formation
 Avoid imported feeds or manures
 Compost all manure thoroughly
 Control weeds in field borders
 Delay planting the crop (for faster crop growth and quicker ground coverage)
 Maintain good soil quality
Prevention is the most essential aspect of weed management. Once a noxious weed
infestation becomes established, any increase in size and density creates increasingly more
expensive management efforts. Awareness of weed seed sources and plant identification is a must.
 Weed seed can be spread from neighbouring properties, adjacent road rights-of-way and
trails. Direct sources are often livestock, manure, seed, hay, vehicles and equipment.
 Disturbed ground is most vulnerable to weed invasion; new roads, pipelines and other sites
where competitive vegetation has been removed. With no restoration weeds will likely
appear.
 Early detection and rapid response saves time and money. Aggressive management action on
small, newly established infestations can result in eradication. "An ounce of prevention is
worth a pound of cure".

Control by cultural methods:

Crop rotation is extremely important to substantially reduce weed infestation from previous
crops. Intercropping is another way of increasing yields per unit area, particularly in small farm

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areas. Using this method, the farmer may have more than one crop in the same field. Increased crop
density by the presence of two crops reduces the space for weeds to grow.
Living cover is a type of intercropping that guarantees the presence of an additional crop that
will protect the soil, possibly providing it with nitrogen (e.g. leguminous plants) and that competes
effectively with weeds.
Mulch helps to preserve soil moisture and inhibits the emergence of many annual weed
species. This method can be practised by using various plant residues, some of them toxic to weeds.
Mulches can help suppress weeds and provide many other benefits such as soil moisture
conservation, soil temperature moderation, increased soil organic matter.

Chemical Control
Herbicide application can provide the most effective and time-efficient method of managing
weeds. Numerous herbicides are available that provide effective weed control and are selective in
that grasses are not injured. Some of these act by interfering with the growth of the weed and are
often based on plant hormones. Herbicides are generally classified as follows:
Contact herbicides destroy only that plant tissue in contact with the chemical spray.
Generally, these are the fastest acting herbicides. They are ineffective on perennial plants that are
able to re-grow from roots or tubers.
Systemic herbicides are foliar-applied, are translocated through the plant, and destroy a
greater amount of the plant tissue. Modern herbicides such as glyphosate are designed to leave no
harmful residue in the soil.
Soil-borne herbicides are applied to the soil and are taken up by the roots of the target plant.
Pre-emergent herbicides are applied to the soil and prevent germination or early growth of
weed seeds.
In agriculture large scale and systematic weeding is usually required, often by machines,
such as liquid herbicide sprayers, or even by helicopter (such as in the USA), to eliminate the
massive amount of weeds present on farming lands.
Herbicides are applied by spot spraying - single nozzle application targeting individual
plants, or broadcast spraying - multiple nozzles covering an entire area.

Biological Control
Biological control is the use of living organisms —parasites, predators, or pathogens—to
maintain pest populations below economically damaging levels, and may be either natural or
applied. The elimination or reduction of weeds to economically acceptable levels through the use of
specific organisms is a positive option from the environmental point of view. The biological control
agents, once established, may control target weeds in inaccessible places. Biological control is
highly specific and allows for a particular species of weed to be eliminated. It may prove useful
when a weed species prevails in the field. Biological control is generally feasible economically
The goal of biological control is not eradication, but the use of living agents to suppress vigor
and spread of weeds. Such agents can be insects, bacteria, fungi, or grazing animals such as sheep,
goats, cattle or horses. Grazing produces results similar to mowing. Biological control is most
commonly thought of as 'insect bio-control'.
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 Biological weed control through insect/plant interactions is an important component of weed
management program. Insect agents, proven to be effective, are utilized in cases where eradication is
impractical due to the vastness or inaccessibility of an infestation, and where other methods of
management are not feasible. Insect agents typically require 3-5 years for establishment and can
limit the spread and density of target weed species by feeding on leaves, stems, roots and/or seed
heads.

Organic methods
1. Drip irrigation: Rubber hoses and other methods are used to bring water directly to the roots
of the desired plants. This limits weed access to water.
2. Manually pulling weeds: Labourers are used to pull weeds at various points in the growing
process.
3. Mechanically tilling around plants: Tractors are used to carefully till weeds around the crop
plants at various points in the growing process. Besides tilling, other mechanical weed
control methods also exist.
4. Ploughing: Ploughing includes tilling of soil, intercultural ploughing and summer ploughing.
Ploughing through tilling of soil uproots the weeds, which causes them to die. Summer
ploughing also helps in killing pests.
5. Crop rotation: Rotating crops with ones that kill weeds by choking them out can be a very
effective method of weed control. It is a way to avoid the use of herbicides, and to gain the
benefits of crop rotation.

Mechanical control
It consists of methods that kill or suppress weeds through physical disruption. Such methods
include pulling, digging, disking, ploughing and mowing. Success of various mechanical control
methods is dependent on the life cycle of the target weed species.
 Hand pulling and digging are effective on annual and biennial species. It is important to
remove the upper 2-3 inches of taproot to prevent re-growth. Perennial root systems often
have meristematic buds that can set roots and produce a new plant from root segments
deposited on the soil surface.
 Complete turnover of the top 10-12 inches of soil disrupts underground root systems and
buries seed from the surface to a depth too deep to germinate.