Herbicide Management to Maintain Environmental Quality

The introduction of organic-based herbicides in the late 1940’s revolutionized weed management with low rate chemical applications that selectively control weeds within crops. After 50 years of using herbicides as the major weed management technique in the Western World, we can reflect on benefits and costs associated with herbicide applications. Benefits are easy to list. Herbicide applications reduce labour requirements, mechanical cultivation (thereby reducing soil erosion and compaction potential), and increase crop productivity, harvest efficiency, and grazing capacity of pastures. However, in spite of numerous positive benefits associated with herbicides, there also are problems