Source: Buhler, D.D. 1996. Development of alternative weed management strategies. J. Prod. Agric. 9:501-505.

In the 1990s, concerns about the environmental impact of agricultural practices have increased. Weed control is directly linked to this issue through tillage practices and especially through herbicide use. Both of these practices lead to groundwater contamination, sedimentation, and eutrophication of surface waters. Weeds themselves cause a major economic impact on agriculture because of lost crop yield and control costs. In the US alone, it is estimated that weeds cost agriculture over $15 billion annually. For these reasons it is important to learn more about weeds and to develop alternative weed control programs. In this paper, Buhler discusses weed management versus control. Weed management emphasizes techniques to anticipate and manipulate weed problems while weed control is reacting to the problems after the fact. He stresses the need for more weed science, noting that current weed control practices may lead to long-term changes of weed population dynamics. This at times will worsen the weed problem by changing the ecology in ways that allow unimportant plants to become troublesome weeds and troublesome weeds to develop resistance to control. Long-term and short-term approaches to weed management are discussed with the emphasis on integrating both into a weed management plan. This approach gives control through rotation of crops, limited herbicide use, selected tillage practices, biological controls, and use of other weed management technology as it is developed. Overall, the author stresses the need for new sustainable weed control measures with a shift away from sole reliance on chemical herbicides.

Abstract author: John Wing, 11 October 1997.

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