A CRITICAL STUDY ON WEED CONTROL TECHNIQUES

Weed is a major problem in crop production, affecting the crop yield as well as the quality of harvested produce. Weeds compete with the main crop for soil nutrients (NPK) of worth Rs 5,000 crores per year in India. The value of total crop losses due to weeds is around Rs. 10,000 crores (Rao, 2000). Weed control is one of the most difficult tasks in crop production agriculture that accounts for a considerable share of the cost involved in agricultural production. There are many methods for weed management, but out of those methods, chemical methods are the most popular. These methods are hazardous for the environment as well as for human health. To ensure food security and sustainable development of agriculture, it is critically important to develop chemical and pollution-free agricultural products. This study has been carried out to know the different weed controlling techniques used by the different researchers to be adapted in agricultural work.