Sustainable management of crop weeds | Alain Rodriguez, Nicolas Munier-Jolain, Henri Darmency, Bruno Chauvel

Weed management based mainly on the use of herbicides is being questioned with the intensive agricultural model. Under pressure from civil society, public authorities are encouraging the agricultural world to develop more sustainable production methods, less dependent on chemicals. This collective work explores weed management approaches integrating all environmental issues. It presents the current state of knowledge on the biology of weeds, the diversity of management techniques, and natural regulation processes. It is structured in three parts focusing respectively on basic knowledge in weed science, the description of sustainable weed management techniques, and various case studies. The book reflects the diversity of perspectives on weeds, explained by the variety of disciplines involved and the divergent perceptions of the negative or beneficial effects of these wild plants in fields. This is one of the strengths of this book. It is intended for students and teachers in the agricultural sector, as well as farmers and agricultural development advisors who can find a wealth of useful information for their daily activities.Bruno Chauvel, a researcher at Inra in Dijon IUMR Agroecology, works on weed management with the aim of reducing herbicide use. A specialist in weed communities, he also focuses on managing invasive plants. Henri Darmency is a research director at Inra in Dijon (UMR Agroecology). He has studied gene flow by crossing GM varieties with related weeds. A specialist in population genetics, he has worked on herbicide resistance and weed regression.Nicolas Munier-Jolain is a research engineer at Inra in Dijon (UMR Agroecology). He participates in the Dephy network and coordinated a long-term systemic experiment in Dijon-Époisses on controlling infestations with little or no herbicides. Alain Rodriguez is an engineer specializing in field crop weeds at Acta. He leads applied research projects on weed control in large-scale crops. An expert in weed science, he is a co-author of "Mauvaises herbes des cultures," a reference book on field crop weeds (4th edition, Acta, 2014).