Weed Management in 2050: Perspectives on the Future of Weed Science

Abstract

The discipline of weed science is at a critical juncture. Decades of efficient chemical weed control have led to a rise in the number of herbicide-resistant weed populations, with few new herbicides with unique modes of action to counter this trend and often no economical alternatives to herbicides in large-acreage crops. At the same time, the world population is swelling, necessitating increased food production to feed an anticipated 9 billion people by the year 2050. Here, we consider these challenges along with emerging trends in technology and innovation that offer hope of providing sustainable weed management into the future. The emergence of natural product leads in discovery of new herbicides and biopesticides suggests that new modes of action can be discovered, while genetic engineering provides additional options for manipulating herbicide selectivity and creating entirely novel approaches to weed management. Advances in understanding plant pathogen interactions will contribute to developing new biological control agents, and insights into plant-plant interactions suggest that crops can be improved by manipulating their response to competition. Revolutions in computing power and automation have led to a nascent industry built on using machine vision and global positioning system information to distinguish weeds from crops and deliver precision weed control. These technologies open multiple possibilities for efficient weed management, whether through chemical or mechanical mechanisms. Information is also needed by growers to make good decisions, and will be delivered with unprecedented efficiency and specificity, potentially revolutionizing aspects of extension work. We consider that meeting the weed management needs of agriculture by 2050 and beyond is a challenge that requires commitment by funding agencies, researchers, and students to translate new technologies into durable weed management solutions. Integrating old and new weed management technologies into more diverse weed management systems based on a better understanding of weed biology and ecology can provide integrated weed management and resistance management strategies that will be more sustainable than the technologies that are now failing.

Robotic weeders can improve weed control options for specialty crops

“…The new companies armed with their improved technologies developed in specialty crops can then move into larger crop markets where they compete with established agricultural chemical companies, delivering the weed control products and services that customers require. It is easier for small companies with robotic weed technology to enter via the less competitive specialty crops markets due to lower development costs and less regulation, compared with herbicides …”

“…Robotic weeders have great potential for adoption by conventional and organic specialty crop growers due to the high cost of manual weeding in those crops . Commercially available robotic weeders include the Ferrari Remoweed, Robovator, Garford In‐row cultivator and Steketee IC .…”

Herbicidal activity of isobenzofuranones and in silico identification of their enzyme target

“…Most of these studies have been based on secondary metabolites of plants and microorganisms . The natural phytotoxins are molecules with high agricultural potential, because they may contribute to the discovery of new herbicides with action's sites unexplored by synthetic products . After identifying the chemical structures of natural phytotoxins, their chemical structures can be modified to enhance their biological activities.…”

“…9 The natural phytotoxins are molecules with high agricultural potential, because they may contribute to the discovery of new herbicides with action's sites unexplored by synthetic products. [10][11][12] After identifying the chemical structures of natural phytotoxins, their chemical structures can be modified to enhance their biological activities. Depending on the functional groups present in the molecules, various chemical transformations can be performed to improve properties like the lipophilicity, which is a key factor in the absorption of any bioactive compound.…”

Shifting the Paradigm: An Ecological Systems Approach to Weed Management

“…Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) is a revolutionary approach to genetic editing that would, in general, pass a genetic element on to the progeny at a rate greater than the expected 50% from Mendelian inheritance [88][89][90][91]. Specifically, CRISPR/Cas9 could be used to introduce changes in the target species DNA.…”