ABSTRACT

Mechanical weed management includes hand and machine tillage, mulching, flooding, draining, heating, cutting, pulling, and dragging. Mechanical methods are the oldest methods of managing weeds. They can be done with unskilled labor and generally are economical, nonpolluting, without residual hazards, and relatively safe to the operator. Mechanical approaches are the traditional and predominant methods of weed management in developing countries. Machine tillage is still a common weed management method in developing countries, but chemical weed management methods predominate. The primary reason for tillage in crop protection worldwide is weed control, and this need varies among countries and crop production systems, depending mainly upon the extent of herbicides and other weed management methods.