Weed control is imperative to keep crops growing well

Weed control is literally the botanical part of the pest controls. It uses physical and chemical methods in order to keep these pesky, unwanted plants from maturing and then harming domesticated plants and livestock. Ploughing was actually an early form of week control because it would cut the roots of the annual pest plants. There are now chemical agents called herbicides which are used for weed control. The plants that are deemed unwanted and pests usually share these three characteristics. The first is that it has little or no value to humans or animals, nutritionally, energetically, or medicinally. The second characteristic is that the plant grows extremely quickly and germinates quickly. The third characteristic that these plants share is that they compete with crops for water, light, space, and nutrients. Competing with crops for these things means that the crops are less likely to thrive, which is bad for humans, because crops are essential for us as a species to be able to live and survive.

The reason that weed control is essential to crops or pasture is because they will compete with useful plants to the point that the area will become filled with these pest plants and become unusable. They often are also poisonous, so if they get mixed up in crops, people and animals might be in danger of consuming them, which could be deadly. These pest plants can also produce burrs, thorns and other things that can damage both people and livestock. This is another reason that these plants are often sought after in order to be killed.

These kinds of pest plants usually thrive at the detriment of edible or ornamental crops. A number of factors though affects how badly the crops will be affected. Some crops are better than others at resisting these pests. Usually the plants that are smaller and grow more slowly are the ones that are in the most danger of being overwhelmed by these pest plants, while the larger and more quickly growing crops are better at resisting the influence of the pest plants. One crop in specific that is very susceptible to being overrun by pest plants is the onion. The onion is slow to germinate and their stems are slender and upright. So if there are quick growing and broad leafed pest plants, they will have a major advantage over the onion. If the pest plants are not removed, then the onion crop will more than likely fail. The pest plants themselves vary in as much as how competitive they are with crops. The competitiveness of the pest plants can also depend on the time of year and weather conditions. The same weed might only be competitive with crops at certain times of the year, and not competitive at all at other times of the year. Regardless of the competitiveness of the pest plants, weed control is imperative to make sure that your crops will grow well and will not be overrun by the pest plants.