Weeds remain a major obstacle to improved yields in agriculture. At the same time, established methods of control are being undermined by problems such as herbicide resistance. This major collection reviews key developments in integrated weed management (IWM) to manage weeds more sustainably.

Weeds hold an enigmatic and sometimes-controversial place in agriculture, where they are generally reviled, grudgingly tolerated, and occasionally admired. In most cases, growers make considerable effort to reduce the negative economic impact of weeds because they compete with crops for resources and hinder field operations, thereby affecting crop productivity and quality, and ultimately the sustainability of agriculture. Weed control in production agriculture is commonly achieved through the integration of chemical, biological, and mechanical management methods. Chemicals (herbicides) usually inhibit the growth and establishment of weed plants by interfering with various physiological and biochemical pathways. Biological methods include crop competition, smother crops, rotation crops, and allelopathy, as well as specific insect predators and plant pathogens. Mechanical methods encompass an array of tools from short handled hoes to sophisticated video-guided robotic machines. Integrating these technologies, in order to relieve the negative impacts of weeds on crop production in a way that allows growers to optimize profits and preserve human health and the environment, is the science of weed management.

Span lang=EN-GB style='mso-ansi-language:EN-GB'It was concluded that cultural weed management techniques that enhance radiation capture by the crop were effective in suppressing weed growth and seed production and increasing crop yields and should be incorporated into smallholder farmer's production practices in a systematic manner as part of Integrated Weed Management and cropping system design.

This book presents principles and practices for ecologically based weed management in a wide range of temperate and tropical farming systems. Special attention is given to the evolutionary challenges that weeds pose and the roles that farmers can play in the development of new weed-management strategies.

With herbicide resistance a growing concern in Australia's cropping industries, the IWM manual describes a broad range of chemical and nonchemical tactics for weed management aimed at reducing the weed seedbank and also reliance on herbicides. The manual is largely written for farm advisors with contributions from some of Australia's leading weed scientists.