Horticulturae 2016, 2(2), 3; doi:10.3390/horticulturae2020003
Bioherbicides in Organic Horticulture
Department of Horticultural Sciences, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, College Station, TX 77843, USA
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Academic Editor: Douglas D. Archbold
Received: 8 October 2015 / Revised: 25 November 2015 / Accepted: 4 January 2016 / Published: 29 March 2016
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Organic Horticulture)
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Abstract
Organic horticulture producers rank weeds as one of their most troublesome, time-consuming, and costly production problems. With the increasing significance of organic horticulture, the need for new bioherbicides to control weeds has grown. Potential bioherbicides may be developed from pathogens, natural products, and extracts of natural materials. Fungal and bacteria pathogens are two important types of microbial agents that have potential to be used as bioherbicides. The byproducts of natural sources such as dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS), corn gluten meal (CGM), and mustard seed meals (MSMs) have shown herbicidal activities in controlling many weed species. Some essential oil extracts have shown bioherbicide potential as well. The efficacy of a bioherbicide is the main limiting factor for its application, and it may be affected by environmental factors such as humidity and moisture, the application method, the spectrum of the bioherbicide, and the type of formulation. In addition to efficacy, costs and concerns about potential human health threats are also limitations to bioherbicide use. As the integration of bioherbicide technology into current weed management systems may help manage herbicide resistance, reduce production costs, and increase crop yields, future research should involve the development of more cost-effective and efficient bioherbicides for control of weeds, as well as the optimization of production methods and cultural practices with use of candidate bioherbicides. View Full-TextKeywords:
bioherbicide; distillers grains with solubles; corn gluten meal; mustard seed meal; essential oil
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. (CC BY 4.0).
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Cai, X.; Gu, M. Bioherbicides in Organic Horticulture. Horticulturae 2016, 2, 3.
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