Despite the fact that several cases of unsafe pesticide use among farmers in different parts of Africa have been documented, there is limited evidence regarding which specific interventions are effective in reducing pesticide exposure and associated risks to human health and ecology. The overall goal of the African Pesticide Intervention Project (APsent) study is to better understand ongoing research and public health activities related to interventions in Africa through the implementation of suitable target-specific situations or use contexts. A systematic review of the scientific literature on pesticide intervention studies with a focus on Africa was conducted. This was followed by a qualitative survey among stakeholders involved in pesticide research or management in the African region to learn about barriers to and promoters of successful interventions. The project was concluded with an international workshop in November 2021, where a broad range of topics relevant to occupational and environmental health risks were discussed such as acute poisoning, street pesticides, switching to alternatives, or disposal of empty pesticide containers. Key areas of improvement identified were training on pesticide usage techniques, research on the effectiveness of interventions targeted at exposure reduction and/or behavioral changes, awareness raising, implementation of adequate policies, and enforcement of regulations and processes.

Although different modifications of ridge tillage (RT) systems exist in different regions around the world, the positive impacts of RT on crop yields and weed management are quite similar. This review gives a comprehensive summary of different forms of RT and highlights the benefits of RT for crop growth, mainly due to better access to soil moisture, nutrients and light. In temperate areas, RT can accelerate crop emergence because soil temperature is usually higher on the ridge. These stimulating effects increase crop competitiveness against weeds especially in the early period of crop development until canopy closure. RT with crops placed on the top of ridges can also be used for automatically guiding inter-row hoes and intra-row band sprayers. The ridges can replace automatic vision control systems for hoeing and band spraying, which are needed for precise weeding in conventional flat seedbeds. Therefore, RT can be considered a possible platform for smart/robotic weeding. This paper introduces a new RT system using real-time kinematic (RTK) global satellite navigation systems (GNSS) for the ridging and seeding of maize and soybean on top of recompacted ridges. Straight ridges with precise positioning data were used to guide mechanical weeding elements precisely along the crop rows. Simultaneously, weeds in the valleys were suppressed by living mulches. Field experiments with this new technology in maize showed 85.5% weed dry biomass suppression compared to an untreated control and a slightly higher weed control efficacy than mechanical weeding in flat seedbeds.

Developing an effective weed management strategy is crucial to sustainable rice production in Nigeria. Rainfed lowland ecology contributes significantly to the volume of rice cultivated in terms of yield and land acreage. Nevertheless, increased weed infestation remains one of the major production constraints. This review highlights the strength and weaknesses of weed management practices in rainfed lowland ecology and research gaps, and examines the potential for developing a sustainable weed management strategy for lowland rice. In this review, a rainfed lowland situation is described (where water is limited) to engage flooding as a potential weed control option, due to the undulating land terrains. Effective weed management begins with creating a weed-free environment at the critical crop growth stages, such that broadcasted or transplanted rice seedlings can efficiently use water, nutrients, and light. Sustainable weed management practices in Nigerian lowland ecology would therefore imply that farmers begin to incorporate crop rotation to suppress problem weeds in continuous rice cropping systems; adopt conventional or minimum tillage to enhance herbicide efficacy and early establishment of rice; adopt weed-competitive and high-yielding cultivars; and practice appropriate spacing, seeding rate, and seeding methods that can support easy adoption of mechanical weeders and optimum plant population to suppress weed pressure at a later growth stage. This is feasible where farmers are supported with infrastructure, farm machinery, and other necessary inputs. Future research should engage lowland rice farmers in specific agroecological zones.

African lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula) is one of the invasive perennial grasses that continues to disturb natural ecosystems globally. Experiments were conducted in southeast Queensland, Australia, to evaluate the effects of temperature, salt stress, water stress, burial depth, and sorghum crop residue load on the emergence and efficacy of postemergence herbicides on two populations (Clifton and Crows Nest) of E. curvula. The optimal germination temperature regimes for E. curvula were 30/20 and 35/25 °C, but seeds did not germinate at temperatures commonly occurring in the Queensland winter (15/5 °C). Total darkness inhibited germination by 79%, indicating that the shade cover effect would reduce germination of E. curvula. The Clifton population tolerated a higher concentration of sodium chloride (160 mM) and osmotic potential (−0.8 MPa). Under both salt and water stress, germination was 31% and 20% greater in the Clifton population than in Crows Nest, respectively, suggesting that the Clifton population is more tolerant to salt and drought stress. The maximum germination was obtained for the surface seeds while emergence declined with increased burial depth up to 4 cm. No seedlings emerged from the 8 cm depth. The addition of sorghum residue amounts up to 8 Mg ha⁻¹ to the soil surface inhibited emergence compared to the no-residue treatment, suggesting that retention of heavy cereal residue will further delay or restrict emergence. Several postemergence herbicides were found to be effective in controlling E. curvula at an early stage. Information from this study will further compliment earlier studies on the targeted management of E. curvula populations.

Effective weed management is crucial in the critical period of sugar beet production, but often lacks sustainability and environmental protection. Recent advancements in sensor-based weed control systems have rendered the latter a realistic prospect, which demands detailed analyses, especially under suboptimal field conditions. The present study analysed six robotic-assisted weed control systems (RAWS) in three experiments on sugar beets in 2024, conducted under dry soil and high weed pressure. The experiments included sensor-based inter-row and intra-row hoeing, spot-and band-spraying and were compared to a broadcast herbicide treatment and an untreated control. Weed control efficacy (WCE) in the intra-and inter-row areas, as well as weed species composition and crop plant damage, were assessed after treatment. The data show that intra-row WCE of two hoeing robots (Farming GT® and Robovator®) equipped with

Sensor‐guidance and camera‐based weed detection systems have improved weed control, resulting in higher weed control efficacy (WCE), less herbicide use, and less crop damage. In this study, four sensor‐guided inter‐ and intra‐row weeding systems were tested in sugar beet, maize, and sunflower. Those four systems included (1) camera‐guided inter‐row hoeing (HOE), (2) HOE + intra‐row finger weeding (HOE+F), (3) HOE + camera‐guided intra‐row hoeing (HOE + InRow) and (4) HOE + intra‐row band spraying (HOE + BS). A broadcast herbicide treatment and an untreated plot were included as control. Six experiments were conducted in 2022 and 2023 in Southwestern Germany. Inter‐row and intra‐row weed density and crop density were assessed before and after treatment. Yield was measured for each plot. The systems were evaluated based on WCE, crop losses (CL), yield, and herbicide savings. All sensor‐based weeding systems controlled at least on average 77% of the weeds. HOE+BS achieved 91% WCE and was similar to the broadcast herbicide application (92% WCE). HOE on average controlled 90% of the inter‐row weeds but only 69% of the in‐row weeds. HOE and HOE+F had 14% less intra‐row WCE than inter‐row WCE. HOE+InRow resulted in 77% inter‐row and intra‐row WCE. Sensor‐guided weed control did not cause significant CL or yield reduction compared to the broadcast herbicide application, except for HOE+InRow in maize 2023 because of wrong setting in the segmentation and weed/crop classification algorithm. This study underlines that sensor‐guided hoeing and the combination of band spraying with inter‐row hoeing provide effective and robust alternatives to conventional broadcast herbicide application in row crops.