Weeding

 Weeds are many home gardeners’

biggest enemy. Herbicides and other
chemicals may seem like the best
weapon in the arsenal against weeds;
however, many experts discourage
the use of chemicals. They can leach
into fruits and vegetables. They can
also runoff and trickle down into
groundwater.
Types of weeds
 1. Grasses
 are monocotyledonous plants, which have
long, narrow, two-ranked, usually flat
leaves with parallel veins and round, hollow
stems. The common examples of grasses
are:
 2. Sedges.
 Sedges are similar to grasses
but have three-ranked leaves
and triangular solid stems.
They frequently have modified
rhizomes for storage and
propagation.
 3. Broadleaves.
 These are dicotyledonous plants
with net-veined leaves Examples
of broad-leaf weeds.
 Methods of
weed control
 1. Start with prevention
 Prevention is also known as exclusion
begins with securing clean seeds and feed
sources. Every opportunity should be
taken to prevent new weeds from being
introduced to the farm. Care should be
taken to select seeds and feed sources that
are free of weed species that are not
currently present on the farm, particularly
invasive or noxious.
 1. Start with prevention
 currently present on the farm, particularly
invasive or noxious.
 Build healthy soil with compost and mulch –
soil organisms protect plants from many
diseases and insect pests’ problems.
 Select pest-resistant plants, and place them
under the sun or shade with a proper
growing medium.
 1. Start with prevention
 Clean up disease-infected plants, and
compost dead plants to reduce hiding
places for insect pests.
 Pull weeds before they produce seeds and
spread.
 Use a variety of plants, so if pests attack
one plant, others can fill its place.
 2. Biological control
 Natural predators often bring pests under
control, but they need time to work. Most bugs
are good bugs: only about 5% of the bugs in
your yard are pests. “Good bugs” like ground
beetles, ladybugs, and lacewings help control
pests. Do not spray at the first sign of damage
– nature may control it for you, or plants often
just outgrow the damage.
 3. Use chemical pesticides as the last
resort.
 you use a chemical pesticide, use the least toxic
product, and spot applies it. Do not spread it all
over the yard to kill a few weeds or bugs. It may
be best to have a professional who has all the
protective gear do the application but doesn’t use
services that spread chemicals over the whole
yard or spray on a calendar schedule. You want
to apply pesticides only when and where you
have a problem.
 Think twice before using pesticides

 Pesticides (weed and bug killers) can damage

soil and plant health, poison wildlife like birds
and salmon, and harm our family’s health. The
good news is that we do not need those
chemicals to grow a healthy and attractive
landscape. Try these natural methods.
 4. Cultural methods
a. Replace problem plants with pest-resistant ones. If a
plant, even a tree, has insect pest or disease problems every
year, it is time to replace it with a more pest-resistant, site-
adapted variety or another type of plant that does not have
these problems.
b. Crop rotation is the planting of different crops in
succession in the same field.
 4. Cultural methods
c. Field sanitation. Sanitation from the perspective of weed
management refers to the practice of minimizing the movement of
weeds that are found on the farm to other parts of the farm. The
primary activities of sanitation involve keeping equipment free of
seed or other reproductive parts of weeds, and ensuring that field
boundaries and other non-crop areas are kept free of weeds
capable of reproducing. There is significant overlap between the
activities carried out in both prevention and sanitation.”
 5. Mechanical/Physical control
This method of weed control is done by depriving
the weeds of complete sunlight, cutting them, and
burning them. The practices involved are hand
pulling, hoeing, cultivation, mulching, and
smothering.
Why should we
control weeds?
 According to Reyes (1977), we control weeds because

 • Weeds cause a decrease in crop production

because they compete for nutrients, moisture, light,
and space.
 • Weeds increase labor and production cost.
 • Some weeds harbor plant pests, which may affect
plant growth and yield.
 According to Reyes (1977), we control weeds because

 • Weeds clog irrigation and drainage canals or

ditches thus hampering the flow of water which
results in overflow and waste of water resources.
 • Some weeds are injurious to men and animals.
 • Weeds lower land value.
 According to Reyes (1977), we control weeds because

 • Roots of weeds interlace with roots of

plants which makes cultivation and
weeding difficult.
 • Weeds cause the wear and tear of farm
implements or equipment.
Cultivation
 Benefits of cultivation:
1. Control the growth of weeds. Weeds are referred
to as the chief plant competitor. There is a saying that
goes, “The best way to control weeds is to remove
the bitter roots,” and this is only accomplished
through cultivation.
 Benefits of cultivation:
2. Cultivation aerates the soil to facilitate the respiration of
plant roots and microorganisms as well as to supply
nitrogen for nitrogen-fixing organisms. During the rainy
season, the soil lacks air because spaces in between soil
particles are filled with water. If you drain the soil, soil air
can circulate in between soil particles. Cultivation also
creates more spaces between soil particles to accommodate
air.
 Benefits of cultivation:
3. Cultivation helps conserve food materials in the soil. It
is generally known, however, that when cultivation control
weeds, moisture is conserved because dead weeds have no
more chance to use the soil moisture as well as food
nutrients in the soil.
4. Cultivation makes the topsoil lose to increase its
capacity to absorb water.
 Frequency of cultivation
The ideal way of taking care of an annual crop like
vegetables is to keep the field free from weeds and the soil
in good tilt all the time through cultivation. This is usually
done in gardening and so, when a field receives about the
same amount of attention, we often say we “garden” the
field. By this, we simply mean we give the field very
intensive care just as we generally do to a garden.
 Depth of cultivation
As a rule, cultivation should be done at a depth of
about 5 centimeters. It should be deep to control
weeds. It is not advisable to cultivate deeper than it is
necessary to kill the weeds because the roots of the
cultivated plants may be injured. The depth varies
according to crops.
 Time of cultivation
Cultivation is done after planting and before the
crops cover the ground. Since cultivation is a
process of working the soil, the rules governing
plowing concerning the condition of the soil
should apply to cultivation.
 Time of cultivation
CROP WHEN TO
CULTIVATE
Beans and peas 2-3 weeks after planting

Eggplant 2-3 weeks after planting

Pepper 2-3 weeks after planting

Lettuce 2-3 weeks after transplanting

 Time of cultivation
CROP WHEN TO
CULTIVATE
Chinese cabbage 2-3 weeks after transplanting

Celery 2-3 weeks after transplanting

Carrots 30 days after transplanting

Cabbage 2-3 weeks after transplanting

 Time of cultivation
CROP WHEN TO
CULTIVATE
Cauliflower and broccoli 25-30 days after transplanting

Tomato 2-3 weeks after transplanting