WEED CONTROL

Weed control aims at checking the growth or reducing the number of weeds to a minimum so that they do not affect crop yields. For successful control of weeds, one has to consider points like life-cycle of the weeds, weed characteristics, mode of reproduction, soil condition, habitat and location, farm practices, critical period of crop weed competition, etc.

Critical stages of crop growth for weed control

This period indicates the critical crop growth stage during which the field must be kept weed free. The weeds, if uncontrolled, could cause great reduction in crop yields. Critical stages of crop growth are - at the time of transplanting or sowing and at the time of flowering and bearing fruit.

Methods of weed control: Measures taken in this method do not allow the weeds to appear in the cropped areas and that is why these methods are called preventive methods. Therefore, one should remember to: use clean seeds avoid using sand or soil from weed infested areas always use rotten and decomposed organic manure avoid movement of cattle from weed infested areas to clean areas clean all farm implements and machinery properly after their use in weed infested areas keep irrigation and drainage channels free of weeds keep farm fences, roads and bunds clean Curative or remedial measures: Control measures: These methods do not eradicate weeds but check the growth or reduce the number of weeds to a minimum so that they do not affect crop yield. The measures adopted for weed control are listed: Mechanical methods: Hand pulling Hoeing Tillage Mowing Flooding Burning With non-living materials (mulching) Cropping and competition methods Crop rotation Kind of crop Use of fertilizers Date and rate of planting Chemical methods Selective herbicides: kills only weeds Non-selective herbicides: kills all the plants