The Role of Industry in the Future of Weed Science

Abstract

The agricultural-chemical industry has been offering solutions in plant protection for several decades. The primary role of Industry in weed control has mainly been to provide chemicals with increasingly attractive profiles regarding safe handling, ecological acceptance, and economical attractiveness. These objectives have been reached by significant developments, e.g. in rates, persistence, and specificity for non-target organisms. It is therefore safe to assume that in the year 2015 and beyond chemicals will continue to maintain a major role in weed control. However, as cropping systems and criteria for desirable control levels change, industry will have to change from a re-active to a pro-active participant in the development of integrated systems. Chemical solutions will be complemented by biological and agronomical methods and will be further supported by biotechnological successes in the crop area. In addition, it is anticipated that sophisticated computer models now in development will help exploit the potential of products as well as of integrated systems. Thus, fully integrated companies active in chemical, biological, and molecular-biological research and having branches in the agro-chemical as well as in the seed business will be especially suited to be driving forces in the changing world of modern weed control. The practice will ask for services much more than for single products. Industry will not only have to offer those services but at the same time assist in the education of growers to enable efficient use of the increasingly intricate methods of future weed control.