Instant Insights: Weed management in regenerative agriculture

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.