9 - Weeds

(Serralié, 2016)

This week's weblog will cover the necessities regarding weed control.

Weed control measures

There are several manners in which one tries to control weed. This can either be by using chemicals, manually and mechanically or biologically (Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, N.D.) (Larimer County, N.D.)

• ·         Chemical control involves the usage of herbicides (Oregon State University, N.D.). This substances is able to do this by either speeding up, stopping or changing the plant’s normal growth patterns. In a manner in which the leaves or the stems are drying out, or it let’s the plant drop its leaves.
• ·         By using machinery or any powered tools to manage weeds one speaks about mechanical weed control. This method is able to reduce a lot of weeds with less manual effort (Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, 2016). There are machines that uses hot air or  flames to get rid of the weeds (Weed Control, N.D.).
• ·         Contrary to mechanical is manual approach, whereby one uses its hands or handheld tools to deal with weed . This manner is said to minimise soil disturbance and decreases erosion.
• ·         One can also make use of insects or pathogens to reduce the amount of weeds, this is called biological control measure (Office of Environment and Heritage, 2016). There is also a cultural manner in controlling weeds, this can by simply rotating the crops or use mulch. 

I would prefer to use a weed control measures on olive tree, which does not include of chemical. Besides, I am a huge fan of using either biological or manual approach. I personally, believe that the most effective manner to control weed is by using machinery, and I should keep in mind to be careful to not damage any roots (University of California Agriculture & Natural Resources, 2016). However, an olive producer, Juean Olivares, controls the weeds in his olive field by letting geese eat the unwanted plants (kerner, 2016).

Advantages and Disadvantages of Roundup herbicide application

The substance containing glyphosate was commercially introduced by Monsanto in 1974, with the purpose to kill weeds by blocking proteins that are essential for plant growth (Grossman, 2015). Today the day the herbicide is said to be world’s most widely-used weed killer, as it is been used in more than 160 countries with more than 1.4 billion pounds of application per year.

The application of the herbicide has both advantages as well as disadvantages:

Pros:

• ·       It has got a low persistence because unlike other herbicide, glyphosate is absorbed by the particles in the soil, which immediately starts to break down into natural, nontoxic substances (Duvauchelle, N.D.)
• ·       It is said to be an effective weed controller (Syngeta, 2011).
• ·       Increased crop yield, because weeds are compressed living enough water, sunlight and nutrients for the crop to utilize and to grow (Beach, 2017).

Cons:

• ·         Glyphosate is toxic, because when you are exposed to it, it will cause skin irritation, swallowing difficulty, diarrhea and vomiting. Therefore, it is recommended to use rubber gloves when working with the substance (Duvauchelle, N.D.) (Mercola, 2013).
• ·         It has claimed to cause potentially environmental damage (Foley, 2017). This is since heavy rain after the application can cause leaching into deeper soil layers or water bodies.
• ·         Researchers are concerned it causes cancer (Worland, 2017). This concern is based on observations during studies, animal studies and test tube studies, but there one is still debating whether this is true or not (Palsdottir, 2017) (Mercola, 2013).

References

Beach, E. (2017, April 25). Pros & Cons of Herbicides. Retrieved November 27, 2017, from Sciencing: https://sciencing.com/pros-cons-herbicides-4925.html

Department of Agriculture and Fisheries. (2016, July 01). Weed control methods. Retrieved November 28, 2017, from Department of Agriculture and Fisheries: https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/plants/weeds-pest-animals-ants/weeds/control-methods

Duvauchelle, J. (N.D.). What Are Pros & Cons of Glyphosate? Retrieved November 27, 2017, from AFGate: http://homeguides.sfgate.com/pros-cons-glyphosate-83086.html

Foley, K. (2017, September 26). Re-evaluating the role of herbicides in contemporary urban horticulture. Retrieved November 27, 2017, from Earlscliffe: http://www.earlscliffe.com/role_of_herbicides.htm

Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. (N.D.). METHODS OF WEED CONTROL. Retrieved November 28, 2017, from Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations: http://www.fao.org/ag/agp/agpc/doc/Publicat/FAOBUL2/B202.htm

Grossman, E. (2015, April 23). What Do We Really Know About Roundup Weed Killer? Retrieved November 27, 2017, from National Geographic: https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/04/150422-glyphosate-roundup-herbicide-weeds/

kerner, A. (2016, October 05). Award-Winning Olive Oil Producer Thinks Weed Control Is for the Birds. Retrieved November 28, 2017, from Olive Oil Times: https://www.oliveoiltimes.com/olive-oil-making-and-milling/award-winning-olive-oil-producer-thinks-weed-control-birds/53065

Larimer County. (N.D.). Methods of Weed Control. Retrieved November 28, 2017, from Larimer County: https://www.larimer.org/naturalresources/weeds/control

Mercola. (2013, June 09). Monsanto’s Roundup Herbicide May Be Most Important Factor in Development of Autism and Other Chronic Disease. Retrieved November 27, 2017, from Mercola: https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/06/09/monsanto-roundup-herbicide.aspx

Office of Environment and Heritage. (2016, February 18). Weed Control. Retrieved November 28, 2017, from Office of Environment and Heritage: http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/pestsweeds/weedcontrol.htm

Oregon State University. (N.D.). Describe the five general categories of weed control methods. Retrieved November 28, 2017, from Oregon State University: http://forages.oregonstate.edu/nfgc/eo/onlineforagecurriculum/instructormaterials/availabletopics/weeds/control

Palsdottir, H. (2017, June 15). Is the Roundup Weed Killer (Glyphosate) Bad for You? Retrieved November 27, 2017, from Health Line: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/roundup-glyphosate-and-health

Serralié, R. (2016). Juan and his father in the groves at Pago de Peñarrubia. Juan and his father in the groves at Pago de Peñarrubia. Olive Oil Times. Retrieved November 28, 2017, from https://www.oliveoiltimes.com/olive-oil-making-and-milling/award-winning-olive-oil-producer-thinks-weed-control-birds/53065

Syngeta. (2011). Benefits Over Glyphosate. Retrieved November 27, 2017, from Syngeta: http://www.syngenta-us.com/prodrender/imagehandler.ashx?ImID=97b03102-f0d1-4566-8bf4-cc3c5d105275&fTy=0&et=8

University of California Agriculture & Natural Resources. (2016, June 21). Integrated Weed Management. Retrieved November 28, 2017, from University of California Agriculture & Natural Resources: http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/r583700111.html

Weed Control. (N.D.). Over ons. Retrieved November 28, 2017, from Weed Control: http://www.weedcontrol.nl/over-ons/

Worland, J. (2017, March 28). Why Researchers Are Concerned This Pesticide May Cause Cancer. Retrieved November 27, 2017, from Time: http://time.com/4711846/roundup-weed-killer-cancer/