Researchers have found that the coexistence of the weed community can reduce crop yields by approximately 6.4 to 65%, and highlight that weed interference can influence the quality of fruits, making them smaller and changing their density.
▶ In addition, weeds cause deformations and decrease their market value, which is why weed control stands out as an essential component of agricultural production. Therefore, the study of the integration of different strategies for weed management is important in the development of a sustainable and efficient production system.
It is stated that 80% of weed management is the key to higher yields and higher profits in agricultural activities, it is also important to assume the increase in the cost of production for weed management due to the indiscriminate use of agrochemicals and inadequate manual controls.
Continuous misuse of herbicides can generate environmental and ecological problems, as the increased resistance of weeds to herbicides can cause problems such as water contamination and environmental pollution.
It has also been shown that weeds are a limiting factor in crops and horticultural production, although at certain times they are more harmful than others, so it is important to determine the critical period of interference of weeds in the cultivation of okra and help the farmer to clean when the crop really needs it.
Competition between plants, when there are appropriate climates and sufficient availability of nutrients, water and carbon dioxide, manifests itself in great magnitude, so that both cultivated plants and weeds tend to achieve maximum growth and yield, occurring to a certain point of development of each species at the expense of the other, forming a characteristic association between both types of plants.
