A COMPARISON OF STRATEGIES FOR WEED MANAGEMENT IN NATURE FARMING

Summary in the original language of the document

Weeds are a major problem in organic or Nature Farming systems and mechanical methods are generally used for weed control. However either mulching or growing crop in-between rows of the principal crop offers scope as a means of protecting soil and suppressing weeds. Field studies thus evaluated the impact of either a mulch or growing two intercrops as possible management strategies for controlling weeds of vegetables grown in major and minor seasons of the tropics under a Nature Farming regime. All three strategies controlled weed numbers, their biomass and increased crop yields. However the least beneficial impact was from the dead leaf mulch, while the highest degree of weed control and increments in crop yields was with the green manure intercrop. The effects of these regimes were also greater in the drier season, where weed populations are higher. The potential of these three strategies for weed management in Nature Farming or organic systems are presented on the basis of these results.