Organic Weed killer
Weeds are undesirable plants, that compete with the main plant under cultivation for nutrients and thereby inhibiting overall plant yield. Allelopathy is the biochemical interaction, either inhibitory or stimulatory, of one plant species with another. Vegetables are very prone to adverse allelopathy from weeds in their infant stage.
Traditional weeds were treated with chemical fertilizer. As the popularity of organic farming grows, alternative, organic weed control mechanisms are explored. This blog explores different Organic Weed killer control mechanisms.
Holistic approach
Initial site selection for cultivation has tremendous benefits or adverse effects on crop yield and weed control. In practice all sites have some indigenous weed species, present in the soil profile, it is crucial to select a site that minimizes resource spent on weed control methods. Favorable sites have good soil health, and areas avoiding drainage.
Weed monitoring
Weed monitoring is an essential component of efficient and cost-effective weed management operations. It is critical to have knowledge of weed species and their locations in order to plan effectively. Weed monitoring should not be confined to the growing season but should be done throughout the year to effectively catch patterns. Weed surveys should ideally be carried out twice during each growing season. The survey findings will give useful information on weeds overlooked in prior crops, current pre and post-emergence weed management activities, and prospective weeds.
Crop rotations
Crop rotation is the practice of growing various types of plants in succession on the same plot of land. Crop rotation can assist to reduce weed development. Winter crop cultivation prevents weeds from developing a significant presence owing to the lack of a cultivation phase, which hampers spring crop cultivation. Crop rotation can also aid to avoid weed species dominance. Herbicides applied in a previous crop may have eliminated potentially difficult-to-control weeds, but they may have accidentally selected more dominant weed types that could affect future crop cultivation.
Solarization
Solarization is the technique that uses the aggressive growth tendency of weeds to control future weed competition. solarization uses solar radiation to kill weeds. Polyethylene mulch is applied to the soil before cultivation. The moist environment inside the mulch initiates weed growth, but a hot confined humid environment limits further growth and kills weeds. Solarization also helps to kill fungus, insects, and other plant pests.
Flaming
Flaming uses propane gas to control weeds with a directed flame. Flaming devices can be handheld or full-sized farm flame. Studies have shown variable efficiency of flaming, effectiveness depends on the scale and species of weed under consideration. Operational costs and safety considerations limit flaming as an effective weed control mechanism. Flaming is inconsistent in long-term weed control. Flaming also destroys soil quality in the long run
Organic herbicides
Organic herbicides use naturally occurring chemicals to kill weeds. Organic pesticides degrade fast, leaving no lingering effects, and have minimal toxicity levels. Organic herbicides are becoming more popular as a result of environmental and health concerns. Organic herbicides and Organic Weedkiller are used along with mechanical weed control techniques. Most organic herbicides are no-selective, meaning they do not differentiate between weed and crop under cultivation. Organic herbicides kill emerged weeds but do not affect the regrowth of subsequent weed growth. Organic herbicides are costly.
It is easy to kill young weed saplings than adult weed saplings. Pre-emergent products prevent weed seed germination. Their active ingredient works as a mitotic inhibitor, halting cell growth. Post-emergent products target weed growing above the soil surface.
Corn gluten meal
One of the most common organic herbicide-active components is corn gluten meal. Corn gluten meal is a weed pesticide that kills weeds before they emerge. Maize gluten meal is a byproduct of the wet milling of corn; its protein component includes around 60% protein and 10% nitrogen. Corn gluten meal is available in powder, pellet, and granulated forms.
Corn gluten meal inhibits root growth in many species of weeds, reduces plant survival, and shoot length. The major concern with Corn gluten meal is crop survivability, CGM like other organic herbicides is nonselective, it also inhibits crop growth. CGM is useful in vegetable and direct seed cultivation.
Application
Organic herbicides destroy only the tissue that comes in contact with them, therefore thorough spray coverage is required. Large concentrations at low spray volumes are less effective than lower concentrations at high spray volumes. Because organic herbicides have little residual action, repeated treatments will be required to control fresh weed flushes. Adding adjuvant to organic herbicide increases the effectiveness of organic herbicides against weed growth.
Home remedies
The above listed are commercial Organic Weed killer and weed control mechanisms. If you wish to control weed in your backyard or rooftop garden, vinegar does the trick. The combination of vinegar, table salt, and soap is an effective nonselective organic herbicide. The acetic acid in vinegar prevents cell growth, soap acts as an effective adhesive agent between plant surface and vinegar solution. The ultimate time-tested method of organic weed control is manual plucking, if the work area is small, manual plucking of weeds is an effective method.