Integrated weed management (IWM): will it reduce herbicide use?

The Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive (2009/128/EC), part of the EU Thematic Strategy for Pesticides, requires Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to be actively promoted. A key objective is to give greater priority to non-chemical methods of plant protection to reduce the impact of pesticides on human health and the environment. Integrated Weed Management (IWM) can be considered part of IPM, and many non-chemical methods are available. For example, a recent review of methods for control of Alopecurus myosuroides (black-grass) in winter wheat found the following mean annual levels of control: ploughing 67%; delayed drilling 37%; fallowing 70%; higher seed rates 30%; competitive cultivars 27%. In comparison with herbicides these efficacy levels are mediocre, and A. myosuroides would be classified as resistant (R) or moderately resistant (MR) to all these methods if the criteria used by the Chemicals Regulation Directorate in the UK for assigning ratings to herbicide efficacy were used. It is, therefore, not surprising that farmers are reluctant to embrace IWM and continue to place greater.reliance on herbicides as a more reliable and cost effective method of weed control. While non-chemical methods will not replace herbicides on most farms, reduced reliance on herbicides will be necessary both for practical (increasing resistance, lack of new herbicides) and political reasons (complying with EU legislation). Farmers will use nonchemical control methods when they have a major weed problem, and have no alternative, but they must be encouraged to adopt IWM at an earlier stage. Research into IWM must be relevant and practical, and not simply conducted as some sort of 'academic' exercise. More effective knowledge transfer is vital, and this is a challenge due to the decline in independent, state funded, advisory services in many European countries. The question arises; is it possible to achieve reductions in pesticide use by simply promoting non-chemical methods of weed control, or will statutory limits on pesticides be needed to achieve this goal?