Weeds cause great yield losses in field crops by competing for water and nutrients. Weed management is a strategy and technique used to control and reduce the growth of unwanted plants in a crop field. Here are some of the general methods for managing the weeds in crop field in different crop stages.

1. Clean the seed by sieving before sowing. Weed seeds can also be removed by placing the seeds in salt solution (sodium chloride @ 100gm in litre of water) . Place the seeds in the solution. So, light weight seeds float on the surface of the water which can be easily removed. 2. Use adequate seed rate to maintain proper plant population which capable of competing with weeds.

1. Use fully rotten FYM or organic matter otherwise weed seeds may emerge from Farm Yard manure spread to the main field. 2. Clean your machineries and farm implement after use to avoid weeds and their seeds getting transportation. 3. In summer season or in off season plough the land and let the land be exposed to sun. So, the seeds, roots and tubers of grasses will die. 4. Mechanical methods like soil solarization can be adopted to control weeds. In this method cover the land with polyethylene film of 20-25 mm thickness during hotter part of summer months for 2-4 weeks. This increases the temperature by 10-12 oC then weeds seeds are desiccated which are present at top 5 cm soil depth.

1. Planting techniques (minimum tillage) can be carried out to reduce the initial weed population growth as only the planting area soil part was ploughed, and planting/ sowing of seed were done. 2. Plant the crop seeded earlier than usual to reduce the early crop weed competition. 3. Pre-plant treatment: Application of herbicides before the planting of crop. Application of herbicides like Roundup ( Glyphosate ) can be done to destroy standing vegetation as an aid to seed-bed preparation or preparation of field is done after the application. 4. Pre-emergence treatment: Application of herbicides before the germination of crop will prevent weeds to emerge. Some herbicides can also be applied just after sowing or planting of seeds.

1. Keep your non crop farm clean, Remove weeds by hand with the help of khurpi or sickle is more effective than other mechanical methods. It is effective against annual and biennial weeds. 2. Mulches like polythene sheets, paddy straw and husk, groundnut shells can be used for weed management. The efficiency of polythene sheet is more in comparison to other materials. In the case of paddy straw /husk and groundnut shells 10-15 cm thick mulch material should be sprayed over the land. 3. Farmers can use some of the competitive plants like marigolds which have the potential to displace parthenium spp. 4. Post emergence treatment: Some herbicides can be applied after the crop is established , but these herbicides are crop specific.

1. mowing is useful for non-cropped areas which gives a uniform cutting and improves aesthetic value of an area. 2. Chaining method of weed control is used for aquatic weeds in ponds in which heavy chains pulled over the bottom of the pond with tractor (from boundary). 3. Burning weeds in non-cropped areas is the cheapest method for weed management. In western countries flaming is used for selective weed control. 4. For non-cropped areas herbicides like paraquat, diaquat and glyphosate can be used with a proper dose to control weeds.

It is a weed management method. Weed population is kept below the threshold level which causes economic loss by approaching all feasible cultural, mechanical, and chemical methods.

1. Crop weed competition will be less. 2. Weed resistance toward herbicides will be less. 3. No damage of herbicides residues in soil and plant. 4. Environmental pollution will be less. 5. Net profit of farmers will be high. Conclusion:- Integrated weed management is a better option for managing weeds than after specific methods. With combination of above methods weeds can be managed properly in the field.

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