ABSTRACT
Weed control is a necessity for efficient and profitable agriculture, and herbicides will continue to be a key component of most weed control programs in the future, because no adequate alternative technology currently exists. Integrated Weed Management (IWM) became an accepted and frequently used term in weed science in the early 1970s. Weed Population Management (WPM) is the part of IWM with which weed density and their competitivity can be reduced and weed spectrum shifting can also be avoided. Almost invariably, crop practices influence the competitive ability of both the crop and weed community; crop-weed interactions must be altered in such a way that the balance favors crop growth at the expense of the weeds. Different varieties of the same crop differ in their ability to compete with weeds. Planting pattern can be influenced by row spacing, seeding rate, and spatial arrangement.
