H2020 IWMPRAISE Project: Integrated Weed Management: Practical Implementation and Solutions for Europe

A tool to help farmers control weeds without relying on herbicides. Farmers recognize the need to move away from herbicide use. However, non-chemical alternatives can be difficult to identify and implement. The EU-funded IWMPRAISE project tested various integrated weed management strategies and made these solutions available to stakeholders. Weed management is a crucial element in agriculture. Unwanted plant growth can negatively affect crop yields, interfere with production practices, and contaminate the harvest, which harms yields.

While farmers have traditionally applied herbicides to control weeds, overreliance on them has contributed not only to soil and environmental pollution but also to the development of herbicide-resistant weeds. This practice is no longer sustainable. It is vital to introduce new weeding practices. They must be sustainable, not only for environmental reasons, but also to ensure the economic viability of agriculture in Europe. One such agroecological approach is integrated weed management (IWM), which has been supported and developed through the IWMPRAISE (Integrated Weed Management: Practical Implementation and Solutions for Europe) project. Identifying herbicide substitutes “The key to integrated weed management (IWM) lies in the use of multiple control tactics,” explains Per Kudsk, IWMPRAISE project coordinator at Aarhus University in Denmark. “The idea is to implement a variety of methods to give growers the best chance of controlling problematic weeds without resorting to herbicides.”

Some of these strategies can be preventative, such as late planting, field margin management, weed mulching, and cover crops. Other strategies designed to reduce the impact of weeds on crops include competitive crops, mechanical weed control, and prioritizing nutrient distribution. However, one challenge is that no single tool or strategy is as effective as herbicides. The solution lies in finding ways to combine different approaches throughout the growing season to achieve a comparable effect without the need for chemicals.

Testing Viable Weed Strategies The primary objective of IWMPRAISE was to help farming communities identify practical integrated land management (ILM) solutions tailored to their specific contexts. To achieve this, the project team worked closely with farmers, their advisors, and SMEs to find solutions acceptable to them. “We started by meeting with farmers and advisors to better understand their perspective on ILM,” says Kudsk. “We also analyzed the economic viability of ILM, as well as its long-term impact on issues such as biodiversity.” National groups were formed in each of the eight participating countries, bringing together farmers, suppliers, and agricultural experts to test various strategies over a three-year period. “We tested strategies such as delaying the sowing of certain crops,” notes Kudsk. “This reduced weed germination and made it easier to remove weeds before sowing seeds.” Regarding weed control, mechanical methods were also tested as alternatives to herbicides. “All of this means that while no single solution is 100% effective, together they can significantly reduce weed infestation,” he concludes. Encouraging farmers to adopt integrated soil management (ISM) Building on this work, the project team developed a web-based tool for integrated weed management (IWM), which is freely available to everyone. Users can log in, select the crop group they grow, and view potential alternatives to herbicides. “The tool provides an overview of alternatives for combating weeds at different stages,” Kudsk explains. “Different colors are used to indicate the life cycle stage being addressed.”

Green, for example, indicates solutions to prevent weed establishment; gray, solutions to reduce their impact on crops; and orange, ways to reduce weed seeding. “We hope this tool will encourage farmers to adopt IWM,” says Kudsk. “This is critical, as spraying herbicides year after year increases the risk of resistance. Furthermore, there are no new herbicides on the market, and EU legislation means that many existing products will disappear. This is why new weed management strategies are needed.” The project has also developed websites in each partner country's national language to reach as many farmers as possible. Each website contains field trial results, inspiration sheets, and inventories of non-chemical inputs.