Lecture - 6

METHODS OF WEED CONTROL – PHYSICAL & CULTURAL

For designing any weed control programme in a given area, one must know the nature &
habitat of the weeds in that area, how they react to environmental changes & how they respond
to herbicides. Before selecting a method of weed control one, much have information on the
number of viable seeds nature of dispersal of seeds, dormancy of seeds, longevity of buried
seeds & ability to survive under adverse conditions, life span of the weed, soil textures moisture
and (In case of soil applied volatile herbicides the herbicide will be successful only in sandy
loam soil but not in clayey soil. Flooding as a method of weed control will be successful only in
heavy soil & net in sandy soil) the area to be controlled.
Principles of weed control are;
a) Prevention
b) Eradication
c) Control
d) Management
Preventive weed control
It encompasses all measures taken to prevent the introduction and/or establishment and
spread of weeds. Such areas may be local, regional or national in size. No weed control
programme is successful if adequate preventive measures are not taken to reduce weed
infestation. It is a long term planning so that the weeds could be controlled or managed more
effectively and economically than is possible where these are allowed to disperse freely.
Following preventive control measures are suggested for adoption wherever possible &
practicable.
1. Avoid using crop that are infested with weed seeds for sowing
2. Avoid feeding screenings and other material containing weed seeds to the farm animals.
3. Avoid adding weeds to the manure pits.
4. Clean the farm machinery thoroughly before moving it from one field to another. This is
particularly important for seed drills
5. Avoid the use of gravel sand and soil from weed-infested
6. Inspect nursery stock for the presence of weed seedlings, tubers, rhizomes, etc.
7. Keep irrigation channels, fence-lines, and un-cropped areas clean
8. Use vigilance. Inspect your farm frequently for any strange looking weed seedlings. Destroy
such patches of a new weed by digging deep and burning the weed along with its roots.
Sterilize the spot with suitable chemical.
9. Quarantine regulations are available in almost all countries to deny the entry of weed seeds
and other propagules into a country through airports and shipyards.
Weed free crop seeds
It may be produced by following the pre-cautionary measures.
i. Separating crop seeds from admixture of crop & weed seeds using physical differences
like size, shape, colour, weight / texture & electrical properties.
ii. Using air-screen cleaners & specific gravity separators, which differentiate seeds based on
seed size, shape, surface area & specific gravity.
iii. Through means of Seed certification we can get certified seeds and can be used safely
because the certified seeds contain no contaminant weed seeds
iv. Weed laws are helpful in reducing the spread of weed species & in the use of well adapted
high quality seeds. They help in protecting the farmers from using mislabeled or
contaminated seed and legally prohibiting seeds of noxious weeds from entering the
country.
v. Quarantine laws enforce isolation of an area in which a severe weed has become
established & prevent the movement of the weed into an uninfected area.
vi. Use of pre-emergence herbicides also helpful in prevention because herbicides will not
allow the germination of weeds.
b. Eradication: (ideal weed control rarely achieved)
It infers that a given weed species, its seed & vegetative part has been killed or
completely removed from a given area & that weed will not reappear unless reintroduced to the
area. Because of its difficulty & high cost, eradication is usually attempted only in smaller areas
such as few hectares or few thousand m2 or less. Eradication is often used in high value areas
such as green houses, ornamental plant beds & containers. This may be desirable and
economical when the weed species is extremely noxious and persistent as to make cropping
difficult and economical.
c. Control
It encompasses those processes where by weed infestations are reduced but not
necessarily eliminated. It is a matter of degree ranging from poor to excellent. In control
methods, the weeds are seldom killed but their growth is severely restricted, the crop makes a
normal yield. In general, the degree of weed control obtained is dependent on the characters of
weeds involved and the effectiveness of the control method used.
d. Weed management
 Weed control aims at only putting down the weeds present by some kind of physical or
chemical means while weed management is a system approach whereby whole land use
planning is done in advance to minimize the very invasion of weeds in aggressive forms and
give crop plants a strongly competitive advantage over the weeds.
Weed control methods are grouped into cultural, physical, chemical and biological. Every
method of weed control has its own advantages and disadvantages. No single method is
successful under all weed situations. Many a time, a combination of these methods gives
effective and economic control than a single method.
MECHANICAL WEED CONTROL
Mechanical or physical methods of weed control are being employed ever since man
began to grow crops. The mechanical methods include tillage, hoeing, hand weeding, digging
cheeling, sickling, mowing, burning, flooding, mulching etc.
1. Tillage
Tillage removes weeds from the soil resulting in
their death. It may weaken plants through injury of root and
stem pruning, reducing their competitiveness or
regenerative capacity. Tillage also buries weeds. Tillage
operation includes ploughing, discing, harrowing and
leveling which is used to promote the germination of
weeds through soil turnover and exposure of seeds to
sunlight, which can be destroyed effectively later. In case
of perennials, both top and underground growth is injured
and destroyed by tillage.
2. Hoeing
Hoe has been the most appropriate and widely used weeding tool for centuries. It is
however, still a very useful implement to obtain results effectively and cheaply. It supplements
the cultivator in row crops. Hoeing is particularly more effective on annuals and biennials as
weed growth can be completely destroyed. In case of perennials, it destroyed the top growth
with little effect on underground plant parts resulting in re-growth.
3. Hand weeding
It is done by physical removal or pulling out of weeds by hand or removal by implements
called khurpi, which resembles sickle. It is probably the oldest method of controlling weeds and
it is still a practical and efficient method of eliminating weeds in cropped and non-cropped lands.
It is very effective against annuals, biennials and controls only upper portions of perennials.

4. Digging
Digging is very useful in the case of perennial weeds to remove the underground
propagating parts of weeds from the deeper layer of the soil.

5. Sickling and mowing

Sickling is also done by hand with the help of sickle to remove the top growth of weeds
to prevent seed production and to starve the underground parts. It is popular in sloppy areas
where only the tall weed growth is sickled leaving the root system to hold the soil in place to
prevent soil erosion. Mowing is a machine-operated practice mostly done on roadsides and in
lawns.
6. Burning
Burning or fire is often an economical and practical means of controlling weeds. It is
used to (a) dispose of vegetation (b) destroy dry tops of weeds that have matured (c) kill green
weed growth in situations where cultivations and other common methods are impracticable.

8. Flooding
Flooding is successful against weed species sensitive to longer periods of submergence
in water. Flooding kills plants by reducing oxygen availability for plant growth. The success of
flooding depends upon complete submergence of weeds for longer periods.

Merits of Mechanical Method

1) Oldest, effective and economical method
2) Large area can be covered in shorter time
3) Safe method for environment
4) Does not involve any skill
5) Weeding is possible in between plants
6) Deep rooted weeds can be controlled effectively
Demerits of Mechanical Method
1) Labour consuming
2) Possibility of damaging crop
3) Requires ideal and optimum specific condition
Mechanical weeders
Dry Land Weeder
It is used for weeding in row crops for removing shallow rooted weeds. It has been
designed ergonomically for easy operation. Useful in dryland and gardenland crops and is ideal
at a soil moisture content of 8 to 10 per cent.

At the extreme end of the arm 120 mm diameter star wheel is fixed. A cutting blade is
fitted to the arm 200mm to the back of the star wheel the star wheel facilitates easy movement
of the tool. The operating width of the blade is 120 mm. Ideal to remove shallow rooted weeds.
The workable moisture content has to be 8 to 10 %
Power rotary weeder
For mechanical control of weeds in crops such as sugarcane, tapioca, cotton, tomato and
pulses whose rows spacing is more than 45 cm.
 The rotary weeder consists of three rows of discs mounted with 6 numbers of curved
blades in opposite directions alternatively in each disc. These blades when rotating enable
cutting and mulching the soil. The width of coverage of the rotary tiller is 500 mm and the depth
of operation can be adjusted to weed and mulch the soil in the cropped field.
Tractor drawn weeding cum earthing up equipment
For weeding and intercultural operations in between row crops in a single pass

An inter cultivator cum earthing up equipment was developed and fitted to a

standard tractor drawn ridger. Three number of sweep type blades are affixed to the ridger
frame for accomplishing the weeding operation in between standing rows of crops. Three ridger
bottom fitted behind the sweep blade, work on the loosened soil mass and aid in earthing up by
forming ridges and furrows. Weeding efficiency is 61 per cent.
Tractor operated multi row rotary weeder
For weeding and intercultural operations in between row crops like sugarcane, cotton,
maize, etc. in a single pass

The multi row rotary weeder consists of a set of cutting blades, which penetrate in to the
soil, removing the weeds in the crop rows. The cutting blade has also been used as an inclined
plane for elevating and converging the soil. The rotating blades are used to cut the weeds and
pulverizing the soil. Weeding efficiency is 71 per cent.
Cono weeder
For weeding between rows of paddy crop

The cono weeder has two conical rotors mounted in tandem with opposite orientation.
Smooth and serrated blades mounted alternately on the rotor uproot and burry weeds because
the rotors create a back and forth movement in the top 3 cm of soil, the cono weeder can
satisfactorily weed in a single forward pass without a push pull movement. It is easy to operate
by a single operator. The weeder does not sink in puddled soil. Field capacity 0.18 ha/day. Star,
Peg type and Twin hoe wheel weeding.
CULTURAL WEED CONTROL
Several cultural practices like tillage, planting, fertiliser application, irrigation etc., are
employed for creating favourable condition for the crop. These practices if used properly, help
in controlling weeds. Cultural methods, alone cannot control weeds, but help in reducing weed
population. They should, therefore, be used in combination with other methods. In cultural
methods, tillage, fertiliser application. and irrigation are important. In addition, aspects like
selection of variety, time of sowing, cropping system, cleanliness of the farm etc., are also
useful in controlling weeds.
1. Field preparation
The field has to be kept weed free. Flowering of weeds should not be allowed. This
helps in prevention of build up of weed seed population.
2. Summer tillage
The practice of summer tillage or off-season tillage is one of the effective cultural
methods to check the growth of perennial weed population in crop cultivation. Initial tillage
before cropping should encourage clod formation. These clods, which have the weed
propagules, upon drying desiccate the same. Subsequent tillage operations should break the
clods into small units to further expose the shriveled weeds to the hot sun.
3. Maintenance of optimum plant population
Lack of adequate plant population is prone to heavy weed infestation, which becomes,
difficult to control later. Therefore practices like selection of proper seed, right method of
sowing, adequate seed rate protection of seed from soil borne pests and diseases etc. are very
important to obtain proper and uniform crop stand capable of offering competition to the weeds.
4. Crop rotation
The possibility of a certain weed species or group of species occurring is greater if the
same crop is grown year after year. In many instances, crop rotation can eliminate atleast
reduce difficult weed problems. The obnoxious weeds like Cyperus rotundus can be controlled
effectively by including low land rice in crop rotation.
5. Growing of intercrops
Inter cropping suppresses weeds better than sole cropping and thus provides an
opportunity to utilize crops themselves as tools of weed management. Many short duration
pulses viz., green gram and soybean effectively smother weeds without causing reduction in the
yield of main crop.
6. Mulching
Mulch is a protective covering of material maintained on soil surface. Mulching has
smothering effect on weed control by excluding light from the photosynthetic portions of a plant
and thus inhibiting the top growth. It is very effective against annual weeds and some perennial
weeds like Cynodon dactylon. Mulching is done by dry or green crop residues, plastic sheet or
polythene film. To be effective the mulch should be thick enough to prevent light transmission
and eliminate photosynthesis.
7. Solarisation
This is another method of utilisation of solar energy for the desiccation of weeds. In this
method, the soil temperature is further raised by 5 – 10 ºC by covering a pre-soaked fallow field
with thin transparent plastic sheet. The plastic sheet checks the long wave back radiation from
the soil and prevents loss of energy by hindering moisture evaporation.

8. Stale seedbed
A stale seedbed is one where initial one or two flushes of weeds are destroyed before
planting of a crop. This is achieved by soaking a well prepared field with either irrigation or rain
and allowing the weeds to germinate. At this stage a shallow tillage or non- residual herbicide
like paraquat may be used to destroy the dense flush of young weed seedlings. This may be
followed immediately by sowing. This technique allows the crop to germinate in almost weed-
free environment.
9. Blind tillage
The tillage of the soil after sowing a crop before the crop plants emerge is known as
blind tillage. It is extensively employed to minimise weed intensity in drill sowing crops where
emergence of crop seedling is hindered by soil crust formed on receipt of rain or irrigation
immediately after sowing.
10. Crop management practices
Good crop management practices that play an important role in weed control are
a. Vigorous and fast growing crop varieties are better competitors with weeds.
b. Proper placement of fertilizers ensures greater availability of nutrients to crop plants,
thus keeping the weeds at a disadvantage.
c. Better irrigation practices to have a good head start over the weeds
d. Proper crop rotation programme
 e. Higher plant population per unit area results in smothering effect on weed growth
Merits of Cultural Method
1. Low cost for weed control
2. Easy to adopt
3. No residual Problem
4. Technical skill is not involved
5. No damage to crops
6. Effective weed control
7. Crop-weed ecosystem is maintained
Demerits of Cultural Method
1. Immediate and quick weed control is not possible
2. Weeds are kept under suppressed condition
3. Perennial and problematic weeds cannot be controlled
4. Practical difficulty in adoption
 Lecture - 7
METHODS OF WEED CONTROL - CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL METHODS
HERBICIDAL CONTROL OF WEEDS
Herbicides are chemicals capable of killing or inhibiting the growth of plants. In the last
40 years or so, man has greatly improved upon his weeding efficiency by supplementing the
conventional weeding methods with herbicides. It has saved farmers of undue, repeated inter-
cultivations and hoeing, and has helped him in obtaining satisfactory weed control where
physical methods often fail. Today, we have over 1501 herbicides in common use for selective
and non-selective weed control in different areas. These chemicals vary greatly in their (a)
molecular structures, (b) mobility within plants, (c) selectivity, (d) fate in soils, and (e) response
to environment. Important properties and uses of some common herbicides in use today are
discussed later in Chapter 13.
Many chemicals have shown high codes of selectivity to certain crops, killing the weeds
effectively. But proper selection of the herbicide, its rate, time, and method of application are
very important to obtain the desire degree of weed control and crop selectivity.
Herbicides are tools, and tool must be used with care. Many developing nations have
made a good beginning in the use of herbicides in agriculture, but more comprehensive
research needs to be done before extending it to new situations.
Benefits of Herbicides
Herbicides were developed in the western world primarily to overcome the shortage of
farm labour for weeding crops. However, during the past four decades, slowly the utility of
herbicides has also been realized in the labour-rich tropical world, for varied reasons. Given
adequate labour and money to remove weeds manually, still many advantages accrue from the
judicious use of herbicides. Important among these are the following:-
1. In monsoon season incessant rainfall may make physical weeding infeasible. Herbicides can
be used to ensure freedom of crops from weeds under such a condition. Also, during the early
crop growth period when many fields need weeding simultaneously, even in labour-rich
countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Nigeria, and Sudan, there is certainly a
weeding bottleneck in crop production. The soil applied herbicides can be of great help in these
regions in boosting crop production.
2. Herbicides can be employed to control weeds as they emerge from the soli to eliminate weed
crop interference even at a very early stage of crop growth. But by physical methods weeds are
removed after they have offered considerable competition to the crops, and rarely at the critical
time. Thus, herbicides provide benefits of timely weed control.
3. Herbicides can kill many weeds that survive by mimicry, for example, wildoat (Avena spp.) in
wheat and barnyardgrass (Echinochola spp.) in rice. Weeds that resemble crop plants usually
escape physical weeding.
4. Herbicidal control does not dictate strict row spacing’s. In physical weed control, on the other
hand, the crop rows have to be sufficiently wide to accommodate weeding implements, else
hand weeding and hand-pulling of weeds has to be resorted to.
5. Herbicides bring about longer lasting control of perennial weeds and brushes than is possible
with any physical control method. Many modern herbicides can translocate considerably deep in
the underground system of weeds and damage them.
6. Herbicides are convenient to use on spiny weeds which cannot be reached manually.
When cultivators or hoes are worked hard in an attempt to uproot the established weeds,
they may cut many feeding roots of a crop like maize, which are appreciable in the first 10 cm
depth of the soil. Their lateral growth fully occupies the inter-row spaces.\
7. Herbicides are safe on erodible lands where tillage may accelerate soil and water erosion.
Excessive tillage, in any case, spoils soil structure, reduces organic matter content, and
depletes moisture status of the soil.
8. Herbicides kill weeds in situ without permitting their dissemination. Tillage on the other hand,
may fragment the vegetative propagules of the weeds and drag them to new sites.
9. Herbicide sprays easily reach the weeds growing in obstructed situations, such as utility-right-
of-way, under fruit trees, and on undulating lands.
Some other benefits of using herbicides include (a) fewer labour problems, (b) greater
possibility of farm mechanization, (c) easier crop harvesting and (d) lower cost of farm produce.
In dry land agriculture, effective herbicidal control ensures higher water use by crops and less
crop failures due to drought.
Limitations of Herbicides
Like any other method of weed control, herbicides have their own limitations. But with
proper precautions these limitations can be overcome, markedly. Important limitations in the use
of herbicides are as follows.
1. In herbicidal control there is no automatic signal to stop a farmer who may be applying the
chemical inaccurately till he sees the results in the crops sprayed or in the rotation crops that
follow.
2. Even when herbicides are applied accurately, these may interact with environment to produce
un-intended results. Herbicide drifts, wash-of, and run-off can cause considerable damage to
the neighbouring crops, leading to unwarranted quarrels.
3. Depending upon the diversity in farming, a variety of herbicides must be stocked on a farm to
control weeds in different fields. On the contrary, for physical control of weeds a farmer has to
possess only one or two kinds of weeding implements for his entire farm.
4. Above all, herbicidal control requires considerable skill on the part of the user. He must be
able to identify his weeds and possess considerable knowledge about herbicides and their
proper usages. Sometimes, an error in the use of herbicides can be very costly.
5. In herbicide treated soils, usually, crop failures cannot be made up by planning a different
crop of choice. The selection of the replacement crop has to be based on its tolerance to the
herbicide already applied.
6. Military use of herbicides is the greatest misfortune of their discovery. In Vietnam, 2,4-D and
2,4,5-T, for example, were used for defoliating forests and crops, leading to miseries to the
innocent civilians. In future, the chemical warfare with residual herbicides may be even more
devastating, which must be avoided at all costs.
BIOLOGICAL CONTROL
Use of living organism’s viz., insects, disease organisms, herbivorous fish, snails or even
competitive plants for the control of weeds is called biological control. In biological control
method, it is not possible to eradicate weeds but weed population can be reduced. This method
is not useful to control all types of weeds. Introduced weeds are best targets for biological
control.
Qualities of bio-agent
1. The bio-agent must feed or affect only one host and not other useful plants
2. It must be free of predators or parasites.
3. It must readily adapt to environment conditions.
4. The bio-agent must be capable of seeking out itself to the host.
5. It must be able to kill the weed or atleast prevent its reproduction in some direct or
indirect way.
6. It must possess reproductive capacity sufficient to overtake the increase of its host
species, without too much delay.
Merits
1) Least harm to the environment
2) No residual effect
3) Relatively cheaper and comparatively long lasting effect
4) Will not affect non-targeted plants and safer in usage
Demerits
 1) Multiplication is costlier
2) Control is very slow
3) Success of control is very limited
4) Very few host specific bio-agents are available at present
Mode of action
a. Differential growth habits, competitive ability of crops and varieties prevent weed
establishment Eg. Groundnut, cowpea fast growing and so good weed suppresser.
b. Insects kill the plants by exhausting plant food reserves, defoliation, boring and
weakening structure of the plant.
c. Pathogenic organisms damage the host plants through enzymatic degradation of cell
constituents, production of toxins, disturbance of harmone systems, obstruction in the
translocation of food materials and minerals and malfunctioning of physiological
processes.
Outstanding and feasible examples of biological weed control
a. Larvae of Coctoblastis cactorum, a moth borer, control prickly pear Opuntia sp. The
larvae tunnel through the plants and destroy it. In India it is controlled by cochinial
insects Dactylopius indicus and D. tomentosus

b. Lantana camara is controlled by larvae of Crocidosema lantana, a moth bores into the
flower, stems, eat flowers and fruits.
c. Cuscuta spp. is controlled by Melanagromyza cuscutae
d. Cyperus rotundus - Bactra verutana a moth borer
e. Ludiwigia parviflora is completely denuded by Altica cynanea (steel blue beetle)
 f. Herbivorous fish Tilapia controls algae. Common carp, a non-herbivorous fish controls
sub-mersed aquatic weeds. It is apparently due to uprooting of plants while in search of
food. Snails prefer submersed weeds.
Bio-Herbicides/ Mycoherbicides
Defn: The use of plant pathogen which are expected to kill the targeted weeds.
These are native pathogen, cultured artificially and sprayed just like post-emergence
herbicides each season on target weed, particularly in crop areas. Fungal pathogens of weed
have been used to a larger extent than bacterial, viral or nematode pathogens, because,
bacteria and virus are unable to actively penetrate the host and require natural opening or
vectors to initiate disease in plants.
Here the specific fungal spores or their fermentation product is sprayed against the
target weed. Some registered mycoherbicides in western countries are tabulated below.
No Product Content Target weed
Devine A liquid suspension of fungal spores of Strangle vine (Morrenia
1.
Phytophthora palmivora causes root rot. odorata) in citrus
Collego Wettable powder containing fungal Joint vetch (Aeschyomone
spores of Colletotrichum virginica) in rice, soybean
2.
gloeosporoides causes stem and leaf
blight
Bipolaris A suspension of fungal spores of Jhonson grass (Sorghum
3.
Bipolaris sorghicola halepense)
Biolophos A microbial toxin produced as Non-specific, general
4. fermentation product of Steptomyces vegetation
hygroscopicus
 Lecture - 8
INTEGRATED WEED MANAGEMENT
An integrated weed management may be defined as the combination of two or more
weed-control methods at low input levels to reduce weed competition in a given cropping
system below the economical threshold level. It has proved to be a valuable concept in a few
cases, though much is still to be done to extend it to the small farmers’ level.
Integrated Weed Management (IWM) approach aims at minimizing the residue problem
in plant, soil, air and water. An IWM involves the utilization of a combination of mechanical,
chemical and cultural practices of weed management in a planned sequence, so designed as
not to affect the ecosystem. The nature and intensity of the species to be controlled, the
sequence of crops that are raised in the rotation, the standard of crop husbandry, and the ready
and timely availability of any method and the economics of different weed-management
techniques are some of the potent considerations that determine the success for the exploitation
of the IWM approach.
Why IWM
1. One method of weed control may be effective and economical in a situation and it may not
be so in other situation.
2. No single herbicide is effective in controlling wide range of weed flora
3. Continuous use of same herbicide creates resistance in escaped weed flora or causes shift
in the flora.
4. Continuous use of only one practice may result in some undesirable effects. Eg. Rice –
wheat cropping system – Philaris minor
5. Only one method of weed control may lead to increase in population of particular weed.
6. Indiscriminate herbicide use and its effects on the environment and human health.
Concept
Uses a variety of technologies in a single weed management with the objective to produce
optimum crop yield at a minimum cost taking in to consideration ecological and socio-
economic constraints under a given agro-ecosystem.
A system in which two or more methods are used to control a weed. These methods may
include cultural practices, natural enemies and selective herbicides.
FAO Definition
It is a method whereby all economically, ecologically and toxicologically justifiable
methods are employed to keep the harmful organisms below the threshold level of economic
damage, keeping in the foreground the conscious employment of natural limiting factors.
 IWM is the rational use of direct and indirect control methods to provide cost-effective
weed control. Such an approach is the most attractive alternative from agronomic, economic
and ecological point of view.
Among the commonly suggested indirect methods are land preparation, water
management, plant spacing, seed rate, cultivar use, and fertilizer application. Direct methods
include manual, cultural, mechanical and chemical methods of weed control.
The essential factor in any IWM programme is the number of indirect and direct methods
that can be combined economically in a given situation. For example, increased frequency of
ploughing and harrowing does not eliminate the need for direct weed control. It is, therefore,
more cost-effective to use fewer pre-planting harrowing and combine them with direct weed
control methods.
There is experimental evidence that illustrates that better weed control is achieved if
different weed control practices are used in combination rather than if they are applied
separately.
Good IWM should be
a. Flexible enough to incorporate innovations and practical experiences of local farmers.
b. Developed for the whole farm and not for just one or two fields and hence it should be
extended to irrigation channels, road sides and other non-crop surroundings on the farm
from where most weeds find their way in to the crop fields.
c. Economically viable and practically feasible.
Advantages of IWM
It shifts the crop-weed competition in favour of crop
Prevents weed shift towards perennial nature
Prevents resistance in weeds to herbicides
No danger of herbicide residue in soil or plant
No environmental pollution
Gives higher net return
Suitable for high cropping intensity
IWM of Cuscuta in Lucerne
1. In fields with history of Cuscuta (dodder), adopt crop raotations with non-susceptible
crops. Grow lucerne only once in three years in such fields.
2. Do not move animals and machinery from the dodder infested fields to the new ones.
3. Treat densely infested patches of lucerne with a non-residue herbicide like paraquat.
4. Do not feed the cuscuta infested crop to the animals.
5. Do not collect the lucerne seeds from the crop infested with dodder.
 Lecture - 9

HERBICIDES – ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATION OF HERBICIDE USAGE IN INDIA

In the past 50 years much has been learned about the use of herbicides and about their
strengths and weaknesses. After 50 years, it is an appropriate time to re-evaluate their role in
agriculture. The use of herbicides is increasing day by day. This is because the other alternative
control measures do not provide an effective and economic substitute for herbicides in many
situations. The efficacy and safety of herbicides are greatly influenced by soil and climate.
These vary greatly between countries as does the legislation controlling their use.
Advantages of herbicides
On weed control
They kill unwanted plants.
They are easy to use
Herbicides can be used on closely planted crops where other methods cannot be used.
Most of the time one application of the herbicide is enough whereas other methods have
to be continually used.
They work fast. They can be removed quickly in critical situations.
Herbicides are relatively cheap, and most of the time cheaper than manual weeding.
On crop growth
They can destroy plants bearing diseases.
They help the crops grow by destroying the weed that causes harmful effects which
include competition for water, nutrients and light; interference of weeds with crop growth
by the release of toxins; modification of soil and air temperatures and the harbouring of
pests.
They can be safely used as the manual and mechanical removing of weeds can destroy
the crop.
Others
They are relatively safe on lands which may erode.
Non-selective herbicides can effectively clear fields, where houses and roads can then
be built.
Disadvantages of herbicides
Effects of Herbicides on environment
Herbicides vary greatly in chemical composition and in the degree of threat they pose to
the environment. Many of the herbicides are highly persistant. It is widely recognised that the
main reason accounting for residues of certain herbicides like simazine and other triazines in
ground and surface water was the widespread use of these herbicides at high doses on hard
surfaces.
Soil: Some herbicides are non-biodegradable and are harmful for a long period of time.
Heavy dose of herbicides affect microbial population of the soil. With herbicides targeting
amino acid synthesis in both plants and microbes, there is a possibility that N2 fixation
may be inhibited by the application of certain herbicides.
Water: The improper use of pesticides and herbicides may also cause the storm water
infiltration into groundwater. When these pesticides and herbicides contaminants
dissolve in storm water they infiltrate the groundwater and then the surface waters, such
as ponds, streams, rivers and lakes. These chemicals may also find their way into the
soil and deeper groundwater units polluting them.
Living organisms: Most herbicides are specifically plant poisons, and are not very toxic
to animals. However, by changing the vegetation of treated sites, herbicide use also
changes the habitat of birds, mammals, insects, and other animals through changes in
the nature of their habitat. Herbivores may eat the plants treated with herbicides and
then carnivores eat the herbivores. The toxic herbicide would be passed up the food
chain increasing in concentration each time resulting in cancers and even deaths.
Anxiety about chemical residues in the environment has increased greatly in the last
decade. These fears and concern about possible litigation have led many land managers to
reappraise their weed control strategies. Change has also been forced on them by the decrease
in the number of approved herbicides as a result of the high cost of registration. In addition,
approval has been withdrawn from more toxic and persistent herbicides.
Effects of Herbicides on Humans
Among the many effects of pesticides and herbicides, perhaps the most alarming is the
danger they pose to human health. People are directly affected by toxicity of some herbicides,
during the course of their occupation (i.e., when spraying pesticides), or indirectly affected when
exposed through drift or residues on food, and wildlife.
Pesticides and herbicides can cause a number of health problems such as heart
congestion, lung and kidney damage, low blood pressure, muscle damage, weight loss
and adrenal glands damage.
Arbitrary and indiscriminate usage of herbicides and pesticides can result in
endometriosis, a common cause of infertility in women.
 Herbicides and pesticides have been suspected by the National Cancer Research
Institute as a probable cause of certain cancers (i.e., cancers of the brain, prostrate,
stomach and lip, as well as leukemia, skin melanomas, etc.) especially among farmers.
The National Academy of Sciences reported that infants and children, because of their
developing physiology, are susceptible to the negative effects of herbicides and
pesticides in comparison to adults.
Effect of herbicides on crop plant
An important problem with broadcast applications is that they are non-selective. They
are toxic to a wide variety of plant species, and not just the weeds. If herbicides are not used
properly, damage may be caused to crop plants, especially if too large dose is used, or if
spraying occurs during a time when the crop species is sensitive to the herbicide. Unintended
but economically important damage to crop plants is sometimes a consequence of the
inappropriate use of herbicides.
Build-up of resistant biotypes
Apart from their effect on the environment, another major problem with herbicides has
been the build-up of herbicide-resistant biotypes where the same herbicide has been used
repeatedly for a number of years. This problem was not clearly foreseen at the start of the
herbicide revolution but, since the early 1980s, triazine resistance has developed in most
countries where these herbicides have been used. The usefulness of a number of other
herbicides, including paraquat, dichlofopmethyl and sulfonylurea types has been affected by the
development of resistant biotypes.
Methods of dealing with this problem include prevention of weed seed shedding, crop
rotation, herbicide rotation, control of weed escapes and tillage practices. Crop rotation is not
relevant in an amenity situation where the ‘crops’ are usually perennial but other control
measures may be appropriate in certain situations. If weeds are prevented from setting seed,
resistant biotypes cannot develop.
This could be achieved if land managers were made more aware of the threat of
resistant biotypes and made greater efforts in intensively managed areas to prevent weeds from
shedding seeds by the use of a rotation of herbicides supplemented by physical means such as
mulching, hand hoeing and hand weeding.
Modern, intensively managed agricultural and forestry systems have an intrinsic reliance
on the use of herbicides and other pesticides. Unfortunately, the use of herbicides and other
pesticides carries risks to humans through exposure to these potentially toxic chemicals, and to
ecosystems through direct toxicity caused to non-target species, and through changes in