India, Weed management

Agriculture is the mainstay of Indian economy because of its high share in employment and livelihood creation. This sector supports more than half a billion people providing employment to 52 per cent of the workforce. With availability of fixed land and decreasing water resources, the goal of 4 per cent growth in agriculture can be achieved only by increasing productivity per unit of these scarce natural resources through effective use of improved technology. The agricultural research system has so far focused mainly on breeding varieties that increase the yield potential of individual crops by enabling more intensive use of inputs. One technology which has a potential to yield substantial increase in the production of foodgrains is proper weed management as weeds alone are known to account for about 15 to 85 per cent losses in the productivity. The paper discusses the future challenges in the area of weed management that require the attention of researchers.