Mini-review: The role of crop rotation, intercropping, sowing dates and increased crop density towards a sustainable crop and weed management in arable crops

The extended and in many cases unjustified use of herbicides has resulted in herbicide resistance development and serious environmental concerns. Therefore, the need for implementation and wider adoption of several agronomic and cultural practices is imperative. Ecologically-based crop management practices like crop rotation, intercropping, delay of sowing date and increased crop density can be also the basis for effective and sustainable weed management. In the present review, several cases are presented and the key points of each method are discussed. Special attention is given to the fact that the efficacy of each practice is depended on the specific soil and climatic conditions along with the field history of each site and crop. Alternative methods of weed management should be further studied and optimized to include them in both organic and conventional production systems and ensure the sustainability of agroecosystems.