Reduction of herbicide use and emission by new weed control methods and strategies

Highlights of a multidisciplinary research program on innovative weed control are presented and discussed in this paper. The program was carried out from 1999 to 2002, and dovetailed most fundamental-strategic and applied research aspects in The Netherlands in that period with respect to weed management. The program was focused on both developing and implementing sustainable weed control strategies for agricultural and non-agricultural areas. Some projects in the program were on (1) developing and improving weed preventive and non-chemical methods, (2) methods that allow the farmer to apply lower dosage of herbicides than indicated on the label, e.g. the so-called “Minimum Lethal Herbicide Dose method” (MLHD), and (3) rational weed control on hard surfaces. The main results of these projects are presented. A successful development and implementation of new methods and systems of weed control that use considerably less herbicides, is determined by many factors. The role that these success factors played in the aforementioned projects is shortly discussed.