ABSTRACT
Traditionally, arable weeds have been considered a major problem for agriculture, and strong efforts have been made in their control and eradication. Crop rotation and regular plowing are traditional practices that keep a low density of arable plants but do not eradicate them. In modern times, other tools for weed control have been developed, with the aim of increasing crop yields and raising profits. Chemical weed control turned out to be extraordinarily efficient and traditional practices have been abandoned or reduced in favor of a generalized use of herbicides causing a massive loss of weed abundance. In increasingly industrialized agricultural systems, it is now recognized that a sterile and homogeneous agricultural landscape does not provide the most efficient land use in terms of yields and environmental benefits (Jackson et al. 2007), and a demand for more sustainable land use is emerging.
