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Ecological implications of traditional weeding and other imposed weeding regimes under slash‐and‐burn agriculture (jhum) in northeastern India
Author(s) -
SWAMY P. S.,
RAMAKRISHNAN P. S.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
weed research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1365-3180
pISSN - 0043-1737
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3180.1988.tb00795.x
Subject(s) - slash and burn , agroecosystem , weed , shifting cultivation , agroforestry , weed control , biomass (ecology) , agriculture , agronomy , environmental science , biology , ecology
Summary Traditional weeding in slash‐and‐burn agriculture (jhum) in northeastern India involves the retention of a certain proportion of weed biomass in situ. By comparing this weed management practice with total weeding and no weeding, the economic and ecological efficiency of this agroecosystem has been assessed. It is concluded that traditional weeding has little effect on the yield potential of the crop mixture compared with total weeding but it could lead to conservation of soil resources by up to about 20%. Indeed, harvested weed biomass put back into the system is an efficient way of recycling resources under stress.