ABSTRACT
Weed control should seek an optimum balance between creating a "floristic desert" and permitting untrammeled weed growth. Beneficial aspects of plant species commonly labeled weeds need to be recognized; the roles of such plants in providing ground cover, forage, and mulch, as well as in integrated pest management, deserve additional research and exploitation. Manual methods of weed control, for both annual and perennial crops, are widely used in the tropics, particularly in areas of abundant labor supply. Hybrids with high seed viability, rapid germination, early emergence, seedling vigor, and rapid growth can favor the crop in competition with weeds simply by surpassing them. Heavy seeding rates and high crop plant densities give the crop a distinct competitive advantage over the weed population. With weeds posing possibly the greatest single limitation on farmers' productivity in the humid tropics, chemical controls are likely to play an increasing role, particularly in those areas where labor is in short supply.
