Weed management in sugar beet: A review

Abstract

Sugar is an essential commodity and an integral part of the food chain which is the cheapest source of energy. It plays a vital role in the development of taste, texture, colour and keeps baked goods soft and moist. Sugar beet ranks second as a sugar producing crop in the world. Weeds in beet crops reduce the yield in the field level as well as make the harvesting and processing difficult. The weed seeds in soil bank are detrimental as they germinate in subsequent crop cultivation. Weed control failure causes severe yield loss in
sugar beet. However, several weed control measures along with herbicides provide a significant increase of average yield in sugar beet. It has become necessary to reduce the use of them in order to protect the human health as well as the other living organisms. For this reason, alternative ways of controlling weeds are being practiced all over the world. The efficient way of reducing the use of herbicides with the revaluation of agronomic techniques is replacing herbicide treatments. Thereby weed control combines herbicidal
and non- herbicidal methods in an integrated manner. Basically, integrated weed control approach provides a potential reduction in weed population. However, this system is not efficient to manage weeds in larger-scale sugar beet production.