Weeds not only destroy crops but are also a killer of the economy. In the past years, several attempts are made and techniques are adopted to fight off these enemies but they are growing even faster and show great adaptability. Pakistan being an agricultural country bears a 20-30% loss in its crop yield production due to poor management of weeds. Thus, it is very important to manage weeds in a proper way. This brief study evaluates how to manage weeds in Pakistan.

1. Weed
management in
agriculture of
Pakistan Sarah Arshad
Lahore college for
women university

2. Introduction
Weed is defined as “a plant that is not valued where it is growing and is usually of vigorous
growth”.
The difference between a weed and an invasive plant specie, lies in the fact that an invasive
specie is not a native specie of the specific local area but it quickly establish itself. They
become so wide-spread that they disrupt the existing plant community by outcompeting native
plants.
In general, weed is a relative term and is always modifying.
Weed control is financially and ecologically important specially in agriculture. Pakistan being an
agricultural country, faces huge losses due to weed and thus need to be managed.

3. Agricultural Export
Product
•
• Moreover, Pakistan is the fifth largest producer and the
third largest exporter of raw cotton (Gossypiumhirsutum L.)
in the world, providing a livelihood to more than 50 million
people.

4. Impacts of
Weed on Crops
•

5. Impacts of Weed on
Crops – Reduction
in crop yield
•

6. Impacts of Weed
on Crops – Yield
losses in Pakistan
•

7. Physical
Methods of
Weed Control
Hand-weeding
Hand- hoeing
Digging
Cutting
Dredging and chaining
Burning and flaming
Mulching
Intercultivation

8. Chemical Methods of Weed Control

9. Chemical Methods of Weed Control – Soil application
Soil surface application
• Herbicides are usually
applied to soil surface to
form a uniform herbicide
layer.
• e.g. Urea, triazines, anilide
Soil incorporation
• Some herbicides are
applied to soil surface and
incorporated into the soil
either by tillage or irrigation
for their effectiveness
• e.g. volatile
herbicides, like aniline and
carbamate.
Subsurface application
• Perenial weeds
like Cyperusrotundus and
Cynodondactylon are
controlled by injecting
herbicides to the lower
layers of the soil.
Band application
• Herbicides are applied
along the narrow bands
over or along the crop
row.
• e.g. Weeds in maize can
be controlled effectively by
spraying atrazine on seed
row at the time of sowing.

10. Chemical Methods of Weed Control – Foliar application
Spot application
Herbicide is added in the
form of small patches.
It minimizes
the herbicide use.
Blanket application
Application of herbicide
over the entire leaf
Direct application
Herbicides are applied
directly to the weeds
avoiding the crop foliage.
Weeds in cotton can be
controlled by this way.

11. Eco-friendly weed control
• Green manure in situ: A practice of ploughing or turning into the soil undecomposed green manure
crops in the same field where the crop is grown.
• Intercropping: Growing of two or more generally dissimilar crops simultaneously on the same piece
of land, in distinct row arrangement is known as intercropping. It increase diversity in the cropping
system and enhance the utilization of resources such as light, heat and water. These practices can
also help to suppress weeds and increase the likelihood of being able to reduce herbicide use in the
cropping system.
• Crop rotation: Crop rotation is an important component of integrated weed management. The choice
and sequencing of crops affect long term weed population dynamics and consequently weed
management.
• Organic manures: A byproduct of the processing of plant and animal matter that has sufficient
nutrient capacity to have value as fertilizer. For example: Application of cane pressmud and neem
cake reduce the weed seed bank of Cyperus rotundus, Echinochloa colonum and Trianthema
portulacastrum in maize, due to reduced pH and phytonicidal properties of organic manures

12. Pakistani agriculture
•

13. Conclusion •