ABSTRACT
Coffee is a crop of major economic importance in several tropical and subtropical regions in the world. As a perennial crop, coffee plants are usually grown in large-spacing inter-rows and they show very low initial growth rates; therefore, Arabica and Robusta coffee are highly sensitive to weed species competition. This results in decreased coffee plant growth and yield, and weed control is one of the largest tasks that can entail high costs. Regardless of the importance of coffee worldwide, the availability of scientific information concerning all aspects of weed control in coffee is not too significant as compared to other main crops. Moreover, coffee is grown in many different production-systems worldwide; hence, the best weed control practices in coffee farms vary significantly between different regions. Considering these limitations, this chapter discusses the effects of weed species on coffee plantations and the main integrated weed management practices that are applied in the crop. The positive and negative effects of such weed control practices on the environment are presented. Emphasis is given to the width of strip weeding that is necessary to prevent competition in young coffee plantations without the complete elimination of natural vegetation in the inter-rows. Finally, the sustainability of weed management in coffee plantations is discussed.
