We're sorry. An error has occurred
Please cancel or retry.
Advances in the reduction of herbicide use in Conservation Agriculture: French case studies
Some error occured while loading the Quick View. Please close the Quick View and try reloading the page.
Couldn't load pickup availability
- Format:
-
17 July 2025

Conservation agriculture (CA) appears as a promising agricultural pathway to achieve multiperformance but is currently questioned due to its reliance on herbicides for weed management, especially glyphosate. One limit in the development of CA-based agroecological cropping system less reliant on herbicide use is the strict definition of CA based on technical means (i.e. the three principles) rather than targeted objectives. In this chapter, the authors mobilize research carried out on experimental stations (e.g. CA-SYS platform) and farmer networks (e.g. French DEPHY-farm network) to synthesize knowledge on how herbicide-free no-till agriculture could be achieved. They provide insights on the multiperformance of herbicide-free and nature-based CA systems compared to reference CA systems. Designing cover crops to ensure growth in a context of unpredictable weather conditions and facilitate mechanical termination, and ensuring crop establishment in absence of tillage and herbicides represent major research avenues for the development of pesticide-free CA systems.
TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING / Pest Control, Pest control / plant diseases, TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING / Agriculture / Sustainable Agriculture, TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING / Agriculture / Agronomy / Crop Science, TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING / Agriculture / Agronomy / Soil Science, Agronomy and crop production, Sustainable agriculture, Agricultural science
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Transitioning from tillage-based systems to Conservation Agriculture while using herbicide to manage weeds
- 3 Effect of strategic tillage on weed, crop yield and economy
- 4 Multicriteria assessment of Conservation Agriculture
- 5 Transitioning to pesticide-free Conservation Agriculture: the CA-SYS platform
- 6 Conclusions
- 7 Acknowledgments
- 8 References