Author
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ALDRICH, RICHARD - ARS RETIRED |
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KREMER, ROBERT |
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Submitted to: Complete Book
Publication Type: Book / Chapter Publication Acceptance Date: 5/20/1996 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Selective chemical weed control may be the most important advance of the 21st century in agriculture impacting all aspects of plant production. In the 21st century weed management is poised to have an equally great impact. Preventing losses from weeds in sustainable food production represents most crop production costs; associated tillage contributes to soil erosion, and herbicides may impact soil and water quality. Complementary roles of control and prevention in weed management potentially reduce weeds and economic inputs, while maintaining a high quality food supply and reducing hazards to the environment. The slow progress in developing effective weed management is largely due to the discovery of the selective weed control properties of 2,4-D, resulting in extensive research and development of numerous additional selective herbicides. The concurrent demand for information on how best to use the new herbicides left little time for research on ecological relationships of weeds and crop plants. Information on ecological relationships has now accumulated to justify preparation of this book that articulates principles of weed control and weed prevention forming the bases for developing effective weed management. Application of these principles focuses on individual plant production enterprises (i.e., farms). Thus, the dynamic relationships existing between weeds and desired plants are presented at the enterprise level to demonstrate how they can be observed and manipulated by the owner/operator on the land. It illustrates why all plant production enterprises require a basic understanding of weed management, identifies relationships between weeds and cultural practices, and shows how ecological concepts and relationships are linked in a total weed management approach. |
