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Title: Natural Products for Weed Management in Organic Farming in the USA

Author
item Dayan, Franck
item Duke, Stephen

Submitted to: Outlooks on Pest Management
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/3/2010
Publication Date: 8/1/2010
Citation: Dayan, F.E., Duke, S.O. 2010. Natural Products for Weed Management in Organic Farming in the USA. Outlooks on Pest Management. 21:156-160.

Interpretive Summary: The public sentiment toward the use of synthetic herbicides and genetically modified crops has become negative in the developed world. In contrast, the popularity of and demand for organic foods has grown throughout the developed world, which has resulted in the conversion of millions of hectares from conventional to organic agriculture. In the US, the surface area dedicated to organic food production more than doubled from 1997 to 2005, yet this increase has not been rapid enough to prevent periodic shortages of some organic products. Neither synthetic herbicides nor transgenic crops are accepted by organizations that approve products for use in organic farming in the US. This leaves very few chemical options, with organic farmers relying on combinations of mulches, tillage, hand labor, biocontrol, rotation, and cover crops for weed management. This paper outlines the few chemical products approved for such use in the US and discusses the need for new and more efficacious weed management tools suitable for organic agriculture.

Technical Abstract: The public sentiment toward the use of synthetic herbicides and genetically modified crops has become negative in the developed world. In contrast, the popularity of and demand for organic foods has grown throughout the developed world, which has resulted in the conversion of millions of hectares from conventional to organic agriculture. In the US, the surface area dedicated to organic food production more than doubled from 1997 to 2005, yet this increase has not been rapid enough to prevent periodic shortages of some organic products. Neither synthetic herbicides nor transgenic crops are accepted by organizations that approve products for use in organic farming in the US. This leaves very few chemical options, with organic farmers relying on combinations of mulches, tillage, hand labor, biocontrol, rotation, and cover crops for weed management. This paper outlines the few chemical products approved for such use in the US and discusses the need for new and more efficacious weed management tools suitable for organic agriculture.