To tackle the enormous losses caused by weeds in different ecosystems, and to discuss the future weed management strategies, the Indian Society of Weed Science, Indian Council of Agricultural Research -Directorate of Weed Research, Jabalpur and Anand Agricultural University (AAU), Anand, Gujarat are jointly organizing the 3rd International Weed Conference at AAU Campus during December 20-23, 2022. Around 500 delegates from across the country and the globe will be attending this conference. The inaugural session of the conference was held on December 20, 2022.The inaugural session was chaired by Dr K B Kathiria, Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, Anand Agricultural University. Dr. Himanshu Pathak, Secretary, DARE, Government of India and Director General, ICAR, graced the inaugural session as the Chief Guest. Dr S K Chaudhari, DDG (NRM), ICAR, Dr Samunder Singh, President, International Weed Science Society, USA and Prof. Yoshiharu FUJII, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo, Japan also graced the inaugural session as Guests of Honour. Dr J S Mishra, Secretary, Indian Society of Weed Science (ISWS) and Director, Directorate of Weed Research (DWR), Jabalpur welcomed the delegates. Dr Sushil Kumar, President of ISWS also addressed the audience during the session.

In the inaugural programme, the Chief Guest highlighted the importance of weeds in crops and cropping system and also highlighted the impact of climate change on weed dynamics. There is a need to incorporate traditional knowledge and wisdom in developing modern tools and techniques in weed management. More public and private collaboration is required in weed science research, he added. Further, Dr. S. K. Chaudhari highlighted the impact of weeds on crop production, losing yield loss of around 11 billion US$, issues of herbicide resistance, pesticide residues, weed flora shift in organic, and natural farming and conservation agriculture. Dr. K. B. Kathiria, Honourable Vice Chancellor, highlighted the issues related to weed science, introduction of genetically modified crops their advantages and limitations. He also highlighted the recent development on genome editing, bioherbicide and nano-herbicide development. Dr. T. Mohapatra, in his key note address, highlighted the problems in agriculture in general and weed management in particular. Also suggested to work on one health in sustainable manner to support ecosystem services and weed population dynamics, weed competitiveness and invasiveness, and breeding crops for competitive to biotic stresses. During the session, many weed scientists were also awarded for their outstanding contributions. Three publications on weed management were also released on the occasion.

The main theme of the conference is “Weed Problems and Management Challenges: Future Perspectives”. Total 12 technical sessions will be conducted during four days of the Conference in which scientists, professors, researchers, students, herbicide producers and executives will be discussing and, sharing their thoughts and views on various sub-themes viz Weed biology and ecology, Integrated weed management in major crops and cropping systems, Integrated weed management in non-crop areas and aquatic environment, Herbicide resistance, Weeds under global climate change, New ways to deal with weeds, i.e. new technologies, Weed utilization, Weeds and biodiversity, Herbicides and environment, Weed science education. This conference is going to create the platform to translate new technologies into durable weed management solutions. Besides, this conference will certainly come out with some concrete recommendations that will be useful for policy makers, scientists, researchers, students and farmers. The overall outcome will also be useful in increasing farmers’ income and achieving Sustainable Development Goals of United Nations.