RT Journal Article
T1 Alternative Tactics to Herbicides in Integrated Weed Management: A Europe-Centered Systematic Literature Review
A1 Gagliardi, Lorenzo
A1 Rodríguez Rigueiro, Francisco Javier
A1 Mosquera Losada, María Rosa
A1 Fountas, Spyros
K1 Dataset
K1 Scientific publications
K1 Non-chemical weed control
K1 Diversification
K1 Field trial
AB Weeds pose a significant threat to crop yields, both in quantitative and qualitative terms. Modern agriculture relies heavily on herbicides; however, their excessive use can lead to negative environmental impacts. As a result, recent research has increasingly focused on Integrated Weed Management (IWM), which employs multiple complementary strategies to control weeds in a holistic manner. Nevertheless, large-scale adoption of this approach requires a solid understanding of the underlying tactics. This systematic review analyses recent studies (2013–2022) on herbicide alternatives for weed control across major cropping systems in the EU-27 and the UK, providing an overview of current knowledge, the extent to which IWM tactics have been investigated, and the main gaps that help define future research priorities. The review relied on the IWMPRAISE framework, which classifies weed control tactics into five pillars (direct control, field and soil management, cultivar choice and crop establishment, diverse cropping systems, and monitoring and evaluation) and used Scopus as a scientific database. The search yielded a total of 666 entries, and the most represented pillars were Direct Control (193), Diverse Cropping System (183), and Field and Soil Management (172). The type of crop most frequently studied was arable crops (450), and the macro-area where the studies were mostly conducted was Southern Europe (268). The tactics with the highest number of entries were Tillage Type and Cultivation Depth (110), Cover Crops (82), and Biological Control (72), while those with the lowest numbers were Seed Vigor (2) and Sowing Depth (2). Overall, this review identifies research gaps and sets priorities to boost IWM adoption, leading policy and funding to expand sustainable weed management across Europe.
PB MDPI
YR 2026
FD 2026
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10347/45498
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10347/45498
LA eng
NO The data that support the findings of this study are available in the Zenodo open access repository at the following link: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17672318, accessed on 11 November 2025.
NO This work has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021–2027) under grant agreement No. 1010606591 (OPER8—European Thematic Network for unlocking the full potential of Operational Groups on alternative weed control).
DS Minerva
RD 17 abr 2026