Innovative Strategies for Managing Weeds in an Environmentally Protective Manner Successfully meeting the challenge of providing weed control without relying on dangerous chemicals that endanger the ecosystem or human lives, this compendium focuses on management strategies that reduce herbicidal usage, restore ecological balance, and incr

D.A. Cooke and R.K. Scott Sugar beet is one of just two crops (the other being sugar cane) which constitute the only important sources of sucrose - a product with sweeten ing and preserving properties that make it a major component of, or additive to, a vast range of foods, beverages and pharmaceuticals. Sugar, as sucrose is almost invariably called, has been a valued compo nent of the human diet for thousands of years. For the great majority of that time the only source of pure sucrose was the sugar-cane plant, varieties of which are all species or hybrids within the genus Saccharum. The sugar-cane crop was, and is, restricted to tropical and subtropical regions, and until the eighteenth century the sugar produced from it was available in Europe only to the privileged few. However, the expansion of cane production, particularly in the Caribbean area, in the late seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries, and the new sugar-beet crop in Europe in the nineteenth century, meant that sugar became available to an increasing proportion of the world's population.

This book presents principles and practices for ecologically based weed management in a wide range of temperate and tropical farming systems. Special attention is given to the evolutionary challenges that weeds pose and the roles that farmers can play in the development of new weed-management strategies.

This book focuses on critical issues in the development of transgenic crops, their problems and prospects, both in developed and developing countries. It deals with genetically-modified herbicide tolerant crops and transgenic crops that resist diseases.

Developments in the understanding of herbicide activity and toxicology have expanded tremendously in the past fifteen years. Research on the mechanism of action of most major classes of herbicide chemistry has provided scientists with excellent insight into enzyme targets. More recently, developments in molecular biology have provided information about herbicide action at the genetic level. Less well understood are the toxicological aspects of herbicide activity that culminate in plant injury or death. Toxicology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Herbicide Activity is a review of the recent literature on most of the major classes of herbicide chemistry in commercial use. The chapters include information about different aspects of herbicide activity related to photosynthesis, inhibition of amino acid biosynthesis, disruption of cell division and microtubule assembly, activity of phytohormone (auxin) mimics, inhibition of fatty acid biosynthesis and some developments in the understanding of herbicide resistance.

This volume covers the developments in pesticide usage, with particular emphasis on the regulations that safeguard users, consumers and the environment. It provides a comprehensive guide to the use of pesticides and the efforts of manufacturers to develop pesticides that are both effective and environmentally benign. The difficulties and hazards associated with their applications, their environmental effects, particularly in wate and the control of storage, uses and residue levels in non-agricultural habitat and in foodstuffs are also discussed.

In recent decades, repeated use of herbicides in the same field has imposed selection for resistance in species that were formerly susceptible. On the other hand, considerable research in the private and public sectors has been directed towards introducing herbicide tolerance into susceptible crop species. The evolution of herbicide resistance, understanding its mechanisms, characterisation of resistant weed biotypes, development of herbicide-tolerant crops and management of resistant weeds are described throughout the 36 chapters of this book. It has been written by leading researchers based on the contributions made at the International Symposium on Weed and Crop Resistance to Herbicides held at Córdoba, Spain. This book will be a good reference source for research scientists and advanced students.

In light of public concerns about sustainable food production, the necessity for human and environmental protection, along with the evolution of herbicide resistant weeds, call for a review of current weed control strategies. Sustainable weed control requires an integrated approach based on knowledge of each crop and the weeds that threaten it. This book will be an invaluable source of information for scholars, growers, consultants, researchers and other stakeholders dealing with either arable, row, cash, vegetables, orchards or even grassland-based production systems. The uniqueness of this book comes from the balanced coverage of herbicide effects on humans and environment in relation to best weed control practices of the most important cropping systems worldwide. Furthermore, it amalgamates and discusses the most appropriate, judicious and suitable weed control strategies for a wide range of crops. It reviews the available information and suggests solutions that are not merely feasible but also optimal.