Fungus spores may replace chemicals.

• Position: Chemical weedkillers

Combating weeds with fungus spores may prove a safe and viable alternative to potentially harmful chemical pesticides, according to plant pathologist Raghavan Charudattan, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Modern weed control depends upon chemical and mechanical methods, with cultivation and herbicides acting as the primary means. There are some other instances, however, where biological controls, such as insects or pathogens, can be used to prevent weeds from plaguing farmers and homeowners alike. "Specifically, I identify and develop fungi that cause diseases in weeds. I find fungi that attack weeds known to be a nuisance to agronomic crops and develop these into bioherbicides."

Charudattan indicates that bioherbicides offer farmers an environmentally safe method to fight weeds, in the sense that no chemical pollutants remain behind following an application. In the future, bioherbicides will allow commercial farmers to reduce their dependency on chemical herbicides. More and more are turning to a concept labeled Integrated Pest Management (IPM) that calls for the elimination of scheduled spraying in favor of attacking pests as they appear, using a wide variety of methods. "Essentially, an IPM program tries to combine different pest control techniques so that farmers can attack pests in a more...