ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
P.O. Box 3657
Fayetteville, AR 72702

Western Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education
(SARE) Farm Internship Curriculum and Handbook

The printable PDF version of the entire document is available at:
http://attra.ncat.org/intern_handbook/pdf/weeds.pdf
1 pages — 37K
Download Acrobat Reader

Weed Management - Field Exercise

Identification

Tour fields and identify most common weeds (star thistle, pigweed, purslane, chicory, wild lettuce, grasses, etc.)
Discuss why weeds are threatening to production - competition for water, nutrients in soil, light, etc.
Pull or dig selected weeds and examine root system

Management through Manual Cultivation

Demonstrate and practice proper techniques with various tools - wheel hoe, stirrup hoe, collinear hoe, and Mexican hoe. Discuss need for follow-up cultivation.
Benefits - eliminates weeds, stirs soil and breaks crust (allows for easier penetration of air and water)