Integrated Weed Management in Plantation Crops

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

Plantation crops are long-term crops established for commercial interest. Major plantation crops are tea (Camellia spp.), coffee (Coffea arabica L.), oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.), areca nut (Areca catechu L), cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum Maton and Amomum subulatum Roxb.), coconut (Cocos nucifera L.), cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.), cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.), and rubber (Hevea brasiliensis Mull. Arg.). Being long-term crops, and often grown as monocultures, plantation crops are severely infested with weeds. This chapter deals with the nature and effect of the weed menace in the above mentioned crops along with methods adopted for weed management. In the plantation crops, weeds are managed by physical, mechanical, and chemical methods similar to those generally adopted in arable/field crops. However, there are reports on the use of low-density polyethylene sheets for mulching interrow space and mowing between the rows to control weeds. Planting smother crops or leguminous cover crops and intercropping in the row space, and deploying grazing animals are the biological methods for weed management in some of these crops. Integrated approach involving a combination of cultural, mechanical, and biological weed control methods is also adopted for combating weeds in an effective, economical, and eco-friendly manner.