Book excerpt: Non-Chemical Weed Control is the first book to present an overview of plant crop protection against non-food plants using non-chemical means. Plants growing wild—particularly unwanted plants found in cultivated ground to the exclusion of the desired crop—have been treated with herbicides and chemical treatments in the past. As concern over environmental, food and consumer safety increases, research has turned to alternatives, including the use of cover crops, thermal treatments and biotechnology to reduce and eliminate unwanted plants. This book provides insight into existing and emerging alternative crop protection methods and includes lessons learned from past methodologies. As crop production resources decline while consumer concerns over safety increase, the effective control of weeds is imperative to insure the maximum possible levels of soil, sunlight and nutrients reach the crop plants. - Allows reader to identify the most appropriate solution based on their individual use or case - Provides researchers, students and growers with current concepts regarding the use of modern, environment-friendly weed control techniques - Presents methods of weed management—an important part of integrated weed management in the future - Exploits the knowledge gained from past sustainable weed management efforts