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The economic importance of weeds

There are over 250, 000 plant species in the world. About 30, 000 of them occur as weeds in various agro-ecosystems and about 18, 000 of these cause serious damage to crops throughout the world. Weeds today are considered to be the most important pest group which interferes with utilization of land and water resources. The losses caused by them to horticulture are greater than any other pest category. Definition Some of the several definitions given to the term “weed” are listed below. A weed is a plant: 1.     Growing where it is not desired; 2.     Out of place; 3.     Growing where something else should grow or nothing should grow; 4.     Whose potential for harm is greater than for good; 5.     Extremely noxious, useless or poisonous; 6.     Whose economic value has not been discovered. Careful examination and analysis of these definitions indicate that the term “weed” is very much relative to a situation, time, and to an individual concerned. In general, du