Instant Insights : Improving Crop Weed Management

This specially curated collection features five reviews of current and key research on improving crop weed management.

The first chapter highlights the need for alternative weed control strategies that will preserve herbicide efficacy, as well as agricultural and environmental sustainability. The chapter discusses the role of integrated weed management (IWM) in achieving this through the implementation of practices that can improve plant health, such as crop rotations and no-till farming.

The second chapter considers the use of IWM in barley cultivation. After an initial outline of more traditional control methods, primarily the use of herbicides, the chapter provides an example of the successful implementation of IWM in barley in the form of two case studies.

The third chapter reviews the impact of weeds on maize grown under temperate conditions in the United States and Europe. It provides a summary of current weed management systems and discusses the issue of herbicide resistance in weed varieties.

The fourth chapter reviews the use of IWM in rice cultivation for improved crop productivity and performance and offers detailed discussions on the variety of techniques that can be incorporated into an IWM strategy to achieve this.

The final chapter presents a number of weed management options and considerations for sorghum, and discusses the critical period for weed control to occur.

Professor Per Kudsk is Head of the Crop Health Section in the Department of Agroecology at Aarhus University, Denmark. An internationally-known expert in integrated weed management, he is a former President of the European Weed Research Society. Professor Kudsk has played a leading role in EU research projects such as IWMPRAISE and the ENDURE Network as well as in the European Plant Protection Organisation (EPPO).