Integrated weed management (IWM) is the control of weeds through a long-term management approach, using several weed management techniques such as:

• Physical control
• Chemical control
• Biological control
• Cultural control

Contact your local council Weed Officer who can assist you in developing an integrated weed management program for your property

Advantages

By using several techniques to control weeds you reduce the chance that weed species will adapt or become resistant to any of the control techniques, which may be likely if only one technique is used repeatedly. For example, if a herbicide is used over a long period of time, a weed species can build up a resistance to the chemical.

A long-term integrated weed management plan, that considers all available management control techniques or tools to control weeds, can be developed for a particular area. Any integrated weed management plan or strategy should focus on the most economical and effective control of the weeds and include ecological considerations.

The long term approach to integrated weed management should reduce the extent of weeds and reduce the weed seed bank / stock in the soil, and it should achieve this goal without degrading the desirable qualities of the land, such as its native ecology or agricultural crops.