The Effects of a Locally Made Pineapple and Papaya herbicide on Weeds and Soil

Abstract

Herbicides are often relied upon as an integral part of weed control. A lack of proper safety equipment and high initial input costs can make the application of herbicides risky for small-scale farmers. Low-cost herbicides farmers can make themselves can solve part of this dilemma. However, when developing new inputs, such as an herbicide, impacts on the different components of the agro-ecological system, beyond weed damage, need to be considered. We investigated the effectiveness of four applications of both a pineapple-based and papaya-based herbicide. In addition to weed damage we measured the impacts on soil pH, decompositional ability and herbicide persistence. Farmers in Northern Thailand will be able to make these herbicides using ingredients easily found in the local area on and off the farm.