Objectives

Weed control is of key importance to insure sustainable crop production and quality. Weed resistance to herbicides, but also to non-chemical weed control methods, is concerning many stakeholders dealing with weed control, e.g. farmers, advisers, distributers, applicators, agrochemical industry. Research on herbicide resistance of weeds is of key importance to find appropriate solutions to keep as many tools available to mitigate as long as possible its evolution. With the increase of pesticide registration standards and the lack of innovation in finding new herbicides in the last decades, the fear exists that in extreme case of resistance, farmers might lose valuable tools (chemical and non-chemical) that had previously been essential for the effective control of yield-reducing weeds. Understanding better how agronomic tools can be combined with chemical tool is the basis of an Integrated Weed Management approach to insure environmental safe crop production at reasonable costs. New knowledge has then to be communicated to the different stakeholders, in particular to farmers. To help to achieve these goals, the EWRS Working Group 'Herbicide Resistance' fosters co-operations between the weed science community in industry, government and academic researchers but also with advisers, distributors, applicators, and farmers.

Mission of the EWRS Working Group 'Herbicide Resistance'

We will facilitate the effective management of weed resistance to chemical and non-chemical control by fostering understanding, co-operation and communication between industry, government, academic and farmers with the aim to:

• Foster a responsible attitude to herbicide use
• Promote Integrated Weed Management combining agronomy and chemistry.
• Support and participate in research conferences and seminars which serve to increase our understanding of herbicide resistance.
• Survey weed resistance evolution, especially against herbicides, in Europe.
• Promote a better understanding of the cause and results of herbicide resistance.
• Promote the scientific knowledge on the mechanisms of herbicide resistance and integrate that in the finding of new weed control solutions.
• Keep high quality standard in resistance characterization and assessment.
• Communicate on Integrated Weed Management strategies and support their implementation through practical guidelines.
• Support young weed scientists, especially in the field of weed resistance.
• Encourage the implementation of new research technologies, e.g. genomics, by bringing training and information.
• Seek active collaboration between public and private researchers, especially in the field of problem identification and devising and implementing management strategies.