Weed Science
Principles and Practices
Chapter One
Introduction to Weed Science
Weed science is the scientific discipline that studies plants that interfere with human
activity. Areas of study range from basic biological and ecological investigations to the
design of practical methods of managing weeds in the environment. The overall goal
of weed management is to design the most appropriate methods in a variety of situations
that ensure a sustainable ecosystem and a minimum influence of nuisance weeds.
The first question is "What is a weed?" Before a plant can be considered a weed,
humans must provide a definition. Many varying definitions have been developed for
weeds, depending on each particular situation where they occur and the plants
involved. For the purpose of this book, we define a weed as a plant growing where it
is not desired, or a plant out of place-some plant that, according to human criteria,
is undesirable. We decide for each particular situat ... read full excerpt from Weed Science: Principles and Practices ebook
