A review of sustainable weed management in soybean

Weed management is an essential element of successful crop production. In recent years, an exponential rise in human population and drastic changes in climate and production techniques have intensified the crop production systems and increased the weed infestations. The evolution of herbicide resistance in a large number of weed species across the world has further aggravated the situation. These circumstances require sustainable weed management tools that can be used effectively to achieve decent crop yields without affecting the environment and ecosystem services negatively. Some of the conventional weed control methods, including the use of preventive measures, tillage and mechanical control, crop competition, soil coverage, crop rotations and crop diversification, are still effective and ecofriendly. No single weed management tactic has proven to be the “magic bullet” for eliminating weed problems, given the nature of weed communities, but a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms that influence the success or failure of weeds in agro-ecosystems will further favor the development and adoption of sustainable weed management systems for agricultural crops. Although the ecologically-based, cultural and physical weed control methods have great potential for sustainable weed management, herbicides cannot be completely left out. In fact, herbicides could be an effective tool in an integrated weed management kit. However, the true integrated weed management strategies must have a balance between chemical and non-chemical options that can be used judiciously in order to achieve a reasonable weed control. Sustainable weed management is an achievable goal provided that efforts are made to diversify the management. In this paper, we will review the most common conventional soybean weed management strategies from a sustainability perspective.