ABSTRACT
Weed control is a necessity for efficient and profitable agriculture, and herbicides will continue to be a key component of most weed control programs in the future, because no adequate alternative technology currently exists. However, the negative secondary effects of chemical weed control, such as water and food contamination, development of resistance, etc., suggest a lowering of our dependence on herbicides. This can be achieved by setting up control programs, not exclusively with the use of tactical interventions, but based on a strategy incorporating knowledge of the weed–crop–environment system. The challenge is to develop a new weed management system, defined as Integrated Weed Management (IWM), which involves the integration of all knowledge plus the use of alternative weed control measures.
