Removing weeds throughout the gardening season means fewer to manage next year. These unwanted plants also serve as host for a variety of insects and diseases. Keeping them out of the garden can help reduce the risk of these pests infecting our desirable plants.
Weeds compete with the crop plants for all essential requirements like water, nutrients, space and light and reduce the growth of crop in various ways. Hence it is important to remove weeds from the cultivated field in early stage of the crop in order to get a high yield of the crop.
But persistent pulling of these “weed fragments” will weaken their hold on the garden. Rototillers can damage roots or stems if used close to plants. In addition, too much tilling may damage the structural qualities of the soil. Never till soil when it is wet or you'll end up with cloddy, compacted soil.
Don't pull weeds if you can help it. What happens when you do? 1) You expose dormant weed seeds embedded in the soil that come up with that weed, and then they germinate and you have more weeds. 2) That wound in the bed, full of exposed soil, is the perfect growth medium for a weed seed to blow in on and germinate.
By pulling weeds when they're small, they're not only simpler to remove, but they also don't get a chance to bloom and go to seed, which significantly increases weed problems. Being conscientious in early weed removal also reduces the need to use chemical herbicides that are not healthy for the environment.
Not only do weeds protect bare soil; over time, they improve the soil every which way. Their roots break up soil to improve aeration and extract nutrients. As weeds' roots die, they, along with weeds' dead leaves and stems, decompose to enrich the ground with humus.
Since mature weeds remove large quantities of moisture and nutrients from the soil, removing the weeds when they are young is important. Hand-pulling works for small gardens and raised beds, but a hoe is critical for larger gardens.
They Compete With Your Garden Plants
Weeds grow fast and fight them for resources. Generally, they're pretty good at this, which will weaken – and can even kill – your precious plants. And the more they grow, the harder they are to destroy at the root. Tackling them early will solve you a headache in the long run.
Removal of weed (or weeding) is done before weeds flower because if they flower they will also produce seeds and finally result in the dispersal of the seeds which makes it difficult to control the weeds because each seed will produce a new weed plant.
The removal of weeds is called weeding. The growth of weeds is harmful as they consume a lot of fertilizers, water, sunlight etc which ultimately reduces the crop yield. Weeding protects the plants from pests and helps in loosening of soil so that roots of the desired plants can penetrate easily.
Weeds can: transform ecosystems and landscapes, altering the availability of essentials such fresh water, eg wilding pine. threaten the survival of native plants by smothering or out-competing them eg climbing asparagus .
The process of removing weeds from a crop field is called weeding.
They store nutrients in their roots and re-grow each year from the roots or seed. Hand-pulling is not as successful because perennials are often stimulated from root or stem disturbances. By hand-pulling, perennial weeds may be encouraged to grow bigger and stronger than before.
Critical time for removal of weeds – weeds removed early in life of crop allows the crop to become stronger. Removal of alternative hosts – alternative hosts of pests can be weeds at the edge of fields, removing these controls pests. However this can reduce wildlife.
Weeds act to shield the soil from the sun, protecting both insects and microscopic organisms from sunlight. Their roots stabilise the soil, creating a secure environment for life, while their stems trap organic matter, which breaks down in the soil and provides sustenance for insects.
In addition to the pest control benefits of a diverse agroecosystem, weeds contribute to the resource base of the rural community, providing a source of secondary foods, medicines and insecticides.
Weeds are plants that are unwanted in a given situation and may be harmful, dangerous or economically detrimental. Weeds are a serious threat to primary production and biodiversity. They reduce farm and forest productivity, displace native species and contribute significantly to land and water degradation.
Weed control is important in agriculture. Methods include hand cultivation with hoes, powered cultivation with cultivators, smothering with mulch, lethal wilting with high heat, burning, and chemical control with herbicides (weed killers).
Tilling: In this method, weeds are removed by uprooting or killing them before sowing the seeds. Manual labour: In this method, weeds are removed by uprooting them which are close to the ground, from time to time with the help of khurpi. Use of weedicides: Weedicide is a chemical used to remove weeds from the field.
The best time to remove weeds is when the soil is damp and moist. However, there are weed control chemicals that can be applied to prevent the germination of weed seeds, or that may be applied to kill weeds after they grow up.
Such methods include pulling, digging, disking, plowing and mowing. Success of various mechanical control methods is dependent on the life cycle of the target weed species.
Presence of weeds increases the cost of agriculture and hinders the progress of work. It increases the irrigation requirement. They reduce the value of produce or otherwise adds the cost of cleaning. Some weeds when eaten (Cleome viscosa) by milch animals will produce an undesirable odour in the milk.
Weeds compete with native plant species for nutrients, water, sunlight and space. They can form dense areas of vegetation that shade and smother native species and may alter key environmental events such as the frequency of fire.