This collection features five peer-reviewed reviews on weed management in regenerative agriculture.
The first chapter provides an analytical review of the adoption of Conservation Agriculture (CA) in Sub-Saharan Africa by smallholder farmers, focusing on the challenges posed by weed management. The chapter assesses chemical and non-chemical weed control methods and their benefits in CA systems.
The second chapter considers the adoption of integrated weed management (IWM) in organic cropping systems, focussing on the key challenges that can arise as a result of this adoption. It also presents examples of successful integration between preventive, cultural and direct tactics in an IWM strategy.
The third chapter highlights an increasing need for IWM strategies in the face of herbicide-resistant weeds, soil degradation and environmental contamination by herbicides. The chapter reviews the cultural techniques available to manage weeds in a sustainable manner.
The fourth chapter introduces the concept of using crop rotations and cover crops as an effective and sustainable strategy for controlling weeds and looks ahead to future research in this area.
The final chapter utilises four detailed case studies from across Europe to illustrate the effectiveness of combined methods to control weeds and preserve/improve farmers’ income.
Chapter 1 - Weed management practices and benefits in Conservation Agriculture systems: Gottlieb Basch and Fernando Teixeira, University of Évora, Portugal; and Sjoerd W. Duiker, Penn State University, USA; 1 Introduction2 Weed control under CA3 Smallholder farmers’ strategies for weed control in developing countries: sub-Saharan Africa4 Future trends5 Conclusion6 Where to look for further information7 References Chapter 2 - Integrated weed management in organic cropping systems: Paolo Bàrberi, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Italy; 1 Introduction2 Key weed management challenges: intra-row weed control3 Key weed management challenges: problematic weeds and weed management in reduced- and no-till organic systems4 Integrated weed management and sustainable organic crop production5 Future trends6 Where to look for further information7 References Chapter 3 - Cultural techniques to manage weeds: Matt Liebman, Iowa State University, USA; 1 Introduction2 Crop population density3 Crop spatial arrangement4 Sowing time and transplanting5 Choice of crop genotype and breeding for competitive and allelopathic abilities6 Mulching7 Soil fertility management8 Irrigation and flooding: depth, timing and placement9 Effects of combining multiple practices: examples of ‘many little hammers’ at work10 Future trends in research11 Summary12 Where to look for further information13 References Chapter 4 - The use of rotations and cover crops to manage weeds: John R. Teasdale, ARS-USDA, USA; 1 Introduction2 Crop rotation in weed management3 Cover crops in weed management4 Opportunities for weed establishment within rotations5 Conclusion6 Future trends7 Where to look for further information8 References Chapter 5 - Optimising integrated weed management in narrow-row crops: L. Bonin, ARVALIS-Institut du Végétal, France; R. Leskovšek, Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, Slovenia; C. Moonen, Institute of Life Science, Italy; W. Smith, NIAB, UK; and M. Sønderskov, Aarhus University, Denmark; 1 Introduction2 Cropping system diversification3 Cultivar choice and establishment4 Field and soil management5 Direct control6 Case studies7 Where to look for further information8 References
Dr Paolo Bàrberi is Professor of Agronomy and Field Crops and Head of the Agroecology Group at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (SSSA), an internationally-renowned university in Pisa, Italy (ranked number 4 in the world among small universities, according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings). Professor Bàrberi is a founding member and Vice-President of Agroecology Europe and has written over 330 publications on topics in sustainable agriculture, agrobiodiversity and agroecology. Dr Anna-Camilla Moonen is an Assistant Professor in Agronomy and Field Crops at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (SSSA). She is a member of the editorial board of Weed Research and her research focuses on agroecological co-design of sustainable cropping systems with a special interest in field margin management, the use of cover crops to manage weed communities, and functional agrobiodiversity in arable and horticultural cropping systems for integrated weed and pest management. She has written over 110 publications in this area.
