It is apparent that many weed species become resistant to herbicides. This is a big challenge for monoculture farming.
Among weed control tools available to farmers are a variety of stale seedbed techniques are best ecological solutions. Stale seedbed methods create a surface layer of soil depleted in viable weed seeds through repetitive cycles of seed germination followed by cultivation to uproot and kill those seedlings.
Among weed control tools available to farmers are a variety of stale seedbed techniques are best ecological solutions. Stale seedbed methods create a surface layer of soil depleted in viable weed seeds through repetitive cycles of seed germination followed by cultivation to uproot and kill those seedlings.
Dear Dr Malhotra, thank you very much for your useful information, I take note of this technique for future articles.
Best regards
jp
Mulching with organic, inorgonic and live mulch. crop rotation and use conventional herbicides with different mode of actions. Solarization during summer months. Summer ploughing etc
Dear Dr Rani thank you for taking your time to give me a useful answer!
Best regards
jpj
Identifying and altering environmental factors (If possible) that promotes weed tolerance to specific conventional herbicides could be a solution.
Dear Oyebanji Alagbo. The repeated application of herbicides may have with time a selective pressure (genetic variation among a population of plants) for those mutants (or epimutants) that can resist the herbicide. This is the case with the repeated application of roundup on transgenic cultures resistant to the chemical. We have so far no evidence that the environment could modify this resistance by weeds.
Dear Jean,
You are right. There is need to focus more into the biological and ecological aspect of such important weeds.
Dr Patel I agree with you but the only problem is that very large farms do not have any crop rotation= very large scale mono culture.
Dr Jean-Pierre maybe we can begin to test the effect of some plant extract on the weed seed dormancy of these problem weeds.
Dr O. Alagbo, It is an excellent idea and in Internet (Google) under "effect of plant extracts on weed seeds germination" you will find a rich list of relevant publications. Good luck!
Regards
Ploughing uncovers more seeds that are buried below the soil surface. No-till or minimum till methods would be best, and use of a cover crop to increase competition between the resistant weeds and the cover may help. Certainly, if chemical control measures are used, use multiple modes of action, and pre-emergence products that kill the weeds very early.
I fully agree with you John. A minimum tilling is a good way to prevent growth of weeds and requires also less energy.For the cover crop one has to make the proper choice of compatible plants. For example the use of the cover plant Desmodium adscendens with corn had a double effect its is poisonous for weeds and it produces a deterrent substance against the insect Spodoptera.
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Entomology
- Resistance