Abstract
In all farming systems, weeds are the most expensive pest to manage, accounting for 30% of potential losses. In organic farming, the problem may be further amplified by restrictions on herbicides, thus making weeds the main problem faced by organic farmers in the field. In this sense, much research is focusing on the allelopathic potential of plants as an ecological weed control tool. Many plant species can release allelopathic compounds with high phytotoxicity that can be used in weed control. Species belonging to the Lamiaceae family have been studied widely for this purpose, and their essential oils (EOs) appear to be promising bioherbicides. However, there are still many challenges for their development. Considering these aspects, a review of the bioherbicidal effect of EOs from Mediterranean Lamiaceae could help identify the most effective ones and the challenges for their actual development.
Highlights
The emerging worldwide need to find alternatives to synthetic herbicides for sustainable weed control has prompted considerable interest in exploiting the natural herbicidal potential in plants [1]
The problem may be further amplified by restrictions on herbicides, making weeds the main problem faced by organic farmers in the field
Bioherbicide sources are sought out by both conventional and organic farming systems: the former wish to identify new sites of action to cope with weed resistance, the latter seek potent alternatives to synthetic herbicides that can be integrated in an overall management approach [2]
Summary
The emerging worldwide need to find alternatives to synthetic herbicides for sustainable weed control has prompted considerable interest in exploiting the natural herbicidal potential in plants [1]. Bioherbicide sources are sought out by both conventional and organic farming systems: the former wish to identify new sites of action to cope with weed resistance, the latter seek potent alternatives to synthetic herbicides that can be integrated in an overall management approach [2]. In this context, weed control research has recently focused on extracts from allelopathic species. Kirschenmann [23] presented four techniques related to the different aspects of management: nutrients, insects, plant disease and weeds As for the latter, the overall goal was “to achieve weed control using crop rotation systems to deprive weeds of favorable growing conditions”. The latter are compounds and secondary metabolites derived from microbes, phytotoxic plant extracts or single compounds [2]
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