Chapter Six - Flaming as an Alternative Weed Control Method for Conventional and Organic Agronomic Crop Production Systems: A Review

Abstract

Abstract The interest for organic crop production is in the increase due to a strong demand for organic food from consumers and an attractive income potential for farmers. Weeds pose one of the major problems in crop production and are responsible for significant crop yield reduction. The problem of controlling weeds without synthetic herbicides under the rules of organic agriculture is challenging. The increase in the number of herbicide-resistant weeds, the increase in herbicide cost, and the movement of herbicides into surface and ground water have sparked public awareness and restrictions on herbicide use. For these reasons, weed scientists are considering alternative and integrated weed management practices to reduce herbicide inputs and impacts. The use of propane for flame weeding can be adopted as one of the alternatives to chemical weed control, as it eliminates concerns over direct residual effects on soil, water, and food quality and can lessen the reliance on herbicides, hand weeding, and/or mechanical cultivation. Flame weeding is an acceptable weed control option in both organic and conventional production systems. A greater knowledge on the development of dose–response curves for determining the appropriate propane dose for effective weed control in major agronomic crops is needed to improve flame-weeding strategies. The dose–response curves for weeds and crops are important so that the lowest effective dose of propane can be applied for weed control in agronomic crops, which saves energy and reduces production costs. Depending on the desired level of weed control or tolerable crop injury level, a propane dose could be selected to either control the weed, or reduce its competitive ability against the crop. In this chapter, we will provide an overview of the findings from the flaming research that has been conducted for the last six years at the University of Nebraska, USA, or reported in pertinent newest literature. This chapter will improve our existing knowledge about flame weeding and will present better general guidelines for both organic and conventional crop producers interested in flaming techniques for weed control.