Weed science in the developing countries of the world, a report

Each team was composed of a weed scientist, entomologist, nematologist, and plant pathologist. Much valuable information was gained but the short stay in each country was not sufficient to acquire a detailed picture of all weed control problems. In most cases, the study teams formed their opinions and recommendations from conversations with persons visited rather than from direct observation of field problems. The individual reports, edited to compose this report, make it clear that it is impossible to generalize the weed problems of the world. There is great agricultural diversity and the diversity of economic resources, cultural traditions, and the present state-of-the-art preclude neat categories. The most consistent observation was that the weed problem is ubiquitous and serious. Indeed, it is more serious than is generally recognized and the enormous task is the most striking impression shared by the authors. Therefore, their foremost recommendation is that each country take immediate steps to initiate or strengthen programs in weed science. Without good programs of adaptive weed control research developing countries will be late in this portion of their agricultural development and the entire program will suffer.