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Weeds and Weed Management in India - A Review

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Relation http://oar.icrisat.org/9093/
 
Title Weeds and Weed Management in India - A Review
 
Creator Rao, A N
Chauhan, B S
 
Subject Agriculture-Farming, Production, Technology, Economics
 
Description India has a wide range of agroclimates and soil types. The highly diverse agriculture and
fanning systems are beset with different types of weed problems. Weeds cause 10-80% crop yield losses
besides impairing product quality and causing health and environmental hazards. Invasive alien weeds
are a major constraint to agriculture, forestry and aquatic environment. Crop-specific problematic weeds
(weedy rice in rice) are emerging as a threat to cultivation, affecting crop production, quality of product
and income of farmers. Traditionally, weed control in India has been . largely dependent on manual
weeding. However, increased labour scarcity and costs are encouraging farmers to adopt labour and costsaving
options. These include herbicides whose market grew at an annual rate of 15%. Integrated weed
management (IWM) is being practiced by Indian farmers, with the level of adoption varying from one
farm to the other. The continuous application of isoproturon coupled with mono-cropping rotation of ricewheat
has led to the evolution of resistance in Phalaris minor Retz. In the northern part of India. Efforts
to manage herbicide resistance have led to the adoption of conservation agriculture in the rice-wheat
cropping system, as a component of IWM.
Research on weed management in India is mostly centred on herbicide efficacy. Herbicides, applied
alone or in combinations, have been regarded as essential tools in the effective management of weeds in
different-ecosystems. IWM, which includes preventative, mechanical, cultural, chemical and biological
methods, is advocated in crop production systems as well as aquatic and forest ecosystems. Herbicideresistant
(HR) transgenic crops have the potential to improve the weed management efficiency and
facilitate adoption of CA in India, provided the risks associated with such crops are examined in detail,
prior to their adoption and commercialization. Newer weed management approaches must be developed
considering the threat of HR weeds appearance in addition to the recurrence and persistence of weeds
and the need to bring down weed management costs to enhance profit for farmers while protecting the
environment. Understanding weed-ecology and-biology_and.using_infoimatioxLtechnoiogy, should be part
of developing and disseminating effective, economical and ecologically advantageous IWM strategies in
India. Detailed review of weeds and weed management' options of the past, present and future in India is
made in this chapter.
 
Publisher Indian Society of Weed Science
 
Contributor Rao, V S
Yaduraju, N T
Chandrasena, N R
Hassan, G
Sharma, A R
 
Date 2015
 
Type Book Section
PeerReviewed
 
Format application/pdf
 
Language en
 
Rights —
 
Identifier http://oar.icrisat.org/9093/1/Chapter.pdf
Rao, A N and Chauhan, B S (2015) Weeds and Weed Management in India - A Review. In: Weed Science in the Asian Pacific Region. Indian Society of Weed Science, Hyderabad, pp. 87-118. ISBN 9788193197806