MECHANICAL ALTERNATIVES TO ELIMINATE THE USE OF GLYPHOSATE IN WEED CONTROL IN MEXICO'S SEMBRANDO VIDA PROGRAM

Weed control in our country has always been conditioned by the moment when a site is to be used for crop establishment.In other words, there is no culture of planning for sowing, much less a culture of proper weed management, resulting in production losses ranging from 15 to 80%.It is important to note that weed control is defined according to the type of producer.Based on this approach and considering that Mexico's Sembrando Vida (PSV) program is for small producers, preferably in marginalized areas, the federal government issued a national decree eliminating the use of GLYPHOSATE as a chemical control agent, given its harmful effects and consequences for human health.In the search for alternatives, the National Council for Science, Humanities, and Technology (CONAHCYT) recently published that mechanical control is a viable option and recommends four alternatives, including mechanical brush cutters and rotary tillers.Therefore, the objective of this study was to conduct a technical evaluation of two commercial mechanical alternatives used for weed control.The test conditions were based on Mexican standards NMX-O-233-S-CFI-2019 and NMX-O-226-SCFI-2015, respectively.The results for the rotary tiller showed an effective yield per hectare of 3 hours and 18 minutes, fuel consumption of 8.33 liters, and a cutting height of 4 centimeters.For the brush cutter, an effective performance of 17.65 hours and a fuel consumption of 25 liters per hectare when the person is trained.It is concluded that the rotary tiller evaluated is an efficient alternative for weed control in areas of one to three hectares, as is the case with the brush cutter, but in areas of up to one hectare.

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