Climate change, crop-weed balance and the future of weed management

Abstract

Ever increasing global population, rapid industrialization, increased fossil fuel consumption, deforestation etc. lead to the increased concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. IPCC reports provide strong evidence that rising CO2 and other trace gases could lead to a 3±12°C increase in global surface temperatures with subsequent effects on climate. Relationship between climate change and agriculture is of particular importance as the world population and world food production showing imbalance under pressure. As mean temperature increases, weeds expand their range into new areas. Climate change is likely to trigger differential growth in crops and weeds and may have more implications on weed management in crops and cropping systems. Growth at elevated CO2 and elevated temperatures would result in anatomical, morphological and physiological changes that could influence herbicidal uptake rates, besides translocation and overall effectiveness. Climate change has an indirect influence on the occurrence of weeds via crop management and land use. There is a possibility that agricultural weed populations will evolve new traits in response to emerging climate and non-climate selection pressures. Reducing the impacts of weeds and preventing new weeds are essential to increasing the resilience of ecosystems and giving native species the best chance to deal with the adverse impacts of climate change.