WEEDS CAUSING CROP LOSSES WORTH BILLIONS, SAYS STUDY

NEW DELHI: Weeds lead to India losing an average of US$ 11 billion each year in 10 major crops, shows data from 1,581 farm trials in 18 states. “Weeds are notorious yield reducers that are, in many situations, economically more harmful than insects, fungi or other crop pests,” said a study, published in the journal, Crop Protection. “Insects, diseases and weeds are the three main biological factors for losing crop yield and causing economic loss to farmers. Unlike visible impact of diseases and insects, impact of weeds goes unnoticed,” said Dr Yogita Gharde, lead author of the paper and scientist at directorate of weed research at Indian Council of Agriculture Research.

NEWDELHI: Weeds lead to India losing an average of US$ 11 billion each year in 10 major crops, shows data from 1,581 farm trials in 18 states.

“Weeds are notorious yield reducers that are, in many situations, economically more harmful than insects, fungi or other crop pests,” said a study, published in the journal, Crop Protection. “insects, diseases and weeds are the three main biological factors for losing crop yield and causing economic loss to farmers. Unlike the visible impact of diseases and insects, the impact of weeds goes unnoticed,” said Dr Yogita Gharde, lead author of the paper and scientist at the directorate of weed research at Indian Council of Agriculture Research . “If weed growth is not stopped at a critical time, it results in massive crop loss, sometimes as high as 70%,” said Gharde.

The study reviewed three types of fields – fields where weeds were left uncontrolled, fields where weeds were controlled using local practices , and fields where weeds were controlled completely.

“The fields where weeds were controlled completely were taken to be the potential yield that a farmer can get if correct weed control measures, such as using herbicide, are taken,” said Dr Gharde.

“We calculated the yield loss and then used the government’s minimum selling price to calculate the economic loss to the farmers,” she said.