Weed control is one of the most important crop protection activities undertaken in both intensive and low-input farming systems. However, even under intensive systems, crop protection which is less dependent on pesticides may require that weeds be managed to obtain a balance between crop and non-crop vegetation to encourage an increase in natural enemies of crop pests. In the low-input farming ...

Over 4,000 plant species parasitize other plants to obtain water and nutrients. A few of these species have become weedy posing a tremendous threat to agriculture. The most damaging to annual crops are the root parasitic weeds, particularly broomrapes (Orobanche and Phelipanche spp.) and witchweeds (Striga spp.), which are extended over large agricultural areas in Europe, Africa and Asia. A pro...

Catechol is an allelochemical which belongs to phenolic compounds synthesized in plants. Its herbicidal effects on weed species; field poppy (Papaver rhoeas), creeping thistle (Cirsium arvense), henbit (Lamium amplexicaule) and wild mustard (Sinapis arvensis) were investigated using wheat (Triticum vulgare) and barley (Hordeum vulgare) species as control plants. In comparison to 2,4-D (a common...

Contarinia nasturtii (Kieffer) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), a common insect pest in Europe and a new invasive pest in North America, causes severe damage to cruciferous crops. In the United States, C. nasturtii was first reported in western New York in 2004. From 2005 to 2007, field surveys were conducted in western New York to investigate the occurrence of C. nasturtii in weeds that might serve a...

Weed control efficacy of three herbicides recently registered for use in the South African Sugar Industry is discussed and the phytotoxic effects on sugarcane are presented. Destun, with or without atrazine, is a safe pre-emergence treatment which is useful for the control of Cyperus esculentus, grasses and broadleaf weeds, while some activity on Cyperus rotundus has also been recorded. Dual + ...

Conventional methods of weed control are weather dependent, costly and labour intensive. Indiscriminate use of chemicals for controlling weeds may pose environmental problems. Sorghum allelopathy is a new technique, which has been tested for controlling weeds of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) as a substitute for chemical herbicides to reduce environmental pollution. Mature sorghum herbage contain...

Since 1996, genetically modified herbicide-resistant (HR) crops, particularly glyphosate-resistant (GR) crops, have transformed the tactics that corn, soybean, and cotton growers use to manage weeds. The use of GR crops continues to grow, but weeds are adapting to the common practice of using only glyphosate to control weeds. Growers using only a single mode of action to manage weeds need to ch...

In most agricultural systems, one of the major concerns is to reduce the growth of weeds. In most cases, removal of the weed population in agricultural fields involves the application of chemical herbicides, which has had successes in increasing both crop productivity and quality. However, concerns regarding the environmental and economic impacts of excessive herbicide applications have prompte...

Bellows TS and Fisher TW (eds.) (1999) Handbook of Biological Control: Principles and Applications of Biological Control. San Diego: Academic Press. Clausen CP (ed.) (1978) Agricultural Research Service: Handbook No. 480: Introduced Parasites and Predators of Arthropod Pests and Weeds: A World Review. Washington, DC: USDA: Agricultural Research Service. DeBach P and Rosen D (1991) Biological Co...

Parasitic weeds cause severe damage to important agricultural crops. Although some promising control methods against these parasitic plants have been developed, new strategies continue to be relevant in integrated approaches. The life cycle for root parasitic weeds is intimately associated with their host and is a suitable target for such new control strategies, particularly when directed at th...