Weed Management: Emerging Challenges and Management Strategies$

Abstract

Weeds have always been the major biotic limitations in sustaining the agri-food systems. Sustainable weed management technologies are therefore needed to meet the future food requirements. Although the use of herbicides for weed management is increasing, the challenges of weed flora shifts, herbicide resistance in weeds, and impact of herbicides on non-target organisms and environment, are also increasing due to its indiscriminate use and lack of new herbicide mechanism of action. But advancement in biological science and trends in computing power, robotics, etc., suggests that multiple paths exist for improving weed control that can be integrated with existing methods to create more sustainable weed management systems. Nonavailability of adequate cheap labour, lack of efficient mechanical weeding tools, low adoption of Integrated Weed Management (IWM) practices, increasing problem of herbicide-resistant weeds, management of weeds in  conservation agriculture, organic farming and natural farming systems, and management of invasive weeds, etc., are some of the major challenges before weed scientists and farmers. The present strategies need to be replaced with multiple and integrated strategies in a system mode. Emphasis need to be given on understanding the weed biology and ecology, weed seedbank dynamics in soil, development and use of sensor-based site-specific weed management techniques, herbicides with new mode of actions, bio-based herbicide products, advances in biotechnology and genetic engineering, development of nontransgenic herbicide tolerant crops, nano-herbicides, etc., will add new tools in weed management. In addition, emphasis should also be given on large-scale utilization of weeds, and capacity building of the stakeholders using modern information technological tools.