Question

Explain various methods of weed control.

Answer 1

The four methods of weed control are as follows:

1. Mechanical methods: These include the following methods : uprooting, weeding with trowel or ‘khurpi’ or harrow (a comblike implement), hand hoeing (scraping), interculture, ploughing, burning and flooding.
2. Cultural methods: They include the following methods : proper bed preparation, timely sowing of crops, intercropping and crop rotation.
3. Chemical methods: Chemical weed killers, called herbicides or weedicides, are sprayed on weeds to destroy (kill) them. This is called chemical control of weeds. 
4. Biological control: Biological control of weeds involves the deliberate use of insects or some other organisms which consume and specifically destroy the weed plants.