Weed management in Conservation Agriculture-based production of annual crops

Publication date: 17/07/2025
Extent: 20 pages

Contributions by: Ademir Calegari, Instituto Agronômico do Paraná (IAPAR), Brazil; Telmo Jorge Carneiro Amado, Federal University of Santa Maria, Brazil; Rolf Derpsch, Consultant (formerly GTZ), Germany; Ray Archuleta, USDA-ARS, USA; Martin Cubilla, FEPASIDAS, Paraguay; Frédéric Thomas, Farmer, France; Sergio Argenteri, Farmer, Italy; Fabricio Krzyzaniak, Agronomist Consultant, Paraguay; Kleso Silva Franco Junior, University CESEP, Brazil; Donizeti Aparecido Fornarolli, Consultant, Brazil; Benedito Noedi Rodrigues, Instituto Agronômico do Paraná (IAPAR), Brazil; Ronaldo Hissayuki Hojo, Regional Development Institute – Paraná, Brazil; Ken Moriya, FEPASIDAS/Agriculture Ministry, Paraguay; Cassio Egidio Cavenaghi Pretes, Londrina State University, Brazil; and Danilo Rheinheimer dos Santos, Federal University of Santa Maria, Brazil

Chapter synopsis:

This chapter reviews the benefits and use of cover crops in no-till (NT) cultivation systems such as Conservation Agriculture (CA) in order to control undesirable plants (‘weeds’) in different annual crop production systems, whilst minimizing the use of herbicides. It begins by situating use of cover crops in the broader context of improving soil health. The chapter then reviews current research on the mechanisms of action deployed by cover crops in weed suppression. Finally, it discusses the range of CA-based weed management practices for annual crops using cover crops, including characteristics of particular cover crops and cover crop mixes as well as a range of examples of the ways they can be combined with cash crops.

DOI: 10.19103/AS.2024.0145.17