Invasive weeds and their management in India

Abstract

Weeds are an ever-present pest that causes severe casualties in crop yields and quality. One-third of global crop losses occur as a consequence of invasive weeds. An aggressive weed is a problem in Asian countries, particularly in India. These invasive weeds can be found in a large variety of environments. Native fauna is depleted and hydrology and bionetwork function are improved as a result of invasive species. The annual cost of dealing with invasive species is expected to be in billions of dollars, including management expenditures, poor health consequences, lost agricultural productivity and damage to ecosystem resources. Approximately 20-30% of all introduced species in the globe generate some sort of issue. The list of invasive alien weed species in India is well-documented and accessible to the general public. In India, 173 alien invasive species from 117 species of the genus and 44 families have been described, responsible for 1% of the available flora. In both cultivated and non-cropped conditions, different plant management methods are used to combat these weeds. None of the present solutions are sufficient to fully eradicate these weeds. As a result, all of these weed control methods must be integrated. Considering the magnifying of yield fatalities instigated by these noxious weeds, an inclusive, reliable and widely adopted technology is urgently needed to address these issues. This article attempts to summarize the current scenario of weeds in India, in particular, major types of weeds found in the region agricultural, ecological losses associated to it and popular physical, biological and chemical methods of their management. Potential opportunities and future prospective of effective as well as sustainable management is also briefly discussed.