Weed Ecology and Management in the Era of Herbicide Resistance and Climate Change
A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Ecology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 October 2021) | Viewed by 26396
Special Issue Editors
Interests: weed biology and ecology; integrated weed management; weed–climate interactions; weed seedbank dynamics
Interests: weed science; allelopathy; plant stress physiology
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Weeds are arguably the most problematic and destructive pests in agro-ecosystems. They not only cause significant yield and quality reductions in crop produce, but they also interfere with other management operations, and sometimes harbour other noxious crop pests. Although weed science has made significant progress in understanding the biology, dispersal, and persistence mechanisms, as well as the interference dynamics of these unwanted, wild plants, knowledge is still limited and scattered compared with other pests. This is mainly because the fundamental focus has remained on weed management, particularly in-crop weed infestations, in order to avoid economic losses. We have long benefited from and still heavily rely on chemical weed control, but our lack of acknowledgement for evolution has led to immense problems of widespread herbicide resistance, rapidly increasing invasions, and continuous pressure to produce more food. Therefore, it is important to excel our understanding of biology, ecology, interference, and impacts of weeds in agricultural systems. This will help in designing and implementing effective weed management programs. Similarly, compiling the literature on advances in weed management strategies is essential for researchers and farmers.
This wide-scope Special Issue invites cutting-edge research, as well as qualified expert opinions in the form of research and review papers, on following potential aspects:
- Biology—the studies must indicate how the understanding of any aspect of plant biology will help in management
- Ecology—plant interactions with a range of environmental conditions and/or other biological factors, and how these ecological interactions could be linked with management
- Interference and impact—understanding the competition or interference dynamics in production systems; studies on socio-economic impacts can be included, as long as they also cover species’ biology or part of management
- Management—efficacy of various chemical, physical, cultural, ecological, and biological weed control methods; research reporting integrated weed management (IWM) is highly sought after.
Please note that this list is not extensive, so feel free to contact us if you are not sure about the suitability of your topic.
Dr. Ali Bajwa
Dr. Amar Matloob
Dr. Muthukumar Bagavathiannan
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- weed biology
- weed ecology
- herbicide resistance
- weed–crop competition
- climate change
- weed seedbank
- integrated weed management
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