A fist full of weeds

This video was posted today on Aliens-L, a list serve for those interested in invasive species (mostly land managers and scientists).  The poster was Pankaj Oudhia who described it this way:

Two days back I was in forest for Ethnobotanical surveys. I observed mother and son engaged in hand weeding in rice fields. The mother was wearing traditional saree with shirt in order to get protection from sharp weedy plants. The son was in modern dress not usually preferred in field by rice workers. The son's new bike was parked in nearby field bund. During interaction they informed that they will cook the uprooted weeds after returning back. It will serve as breakfast as well as curry for dinner. Major part of it will go to cattle as fodder, locally known as Kandi. Weeds like Commelina in dry form will be kept for year round use as medicine (Home remedy) for gout. Small part will be for the Traditional Healers. It will be given as gift and in return the Healers will take care of their health round the year.The weed species they were dealing with were obnoxious to dangerous as per dictionary used by Invasive species experts but I enjoyed (rather appreciated) the unique concept of weed management through utilization by these Indian farmers.    Hand weeding is still popular method of weed management in rice fields. Farmers collect the uprooted weeds and serve it as fodder to their cattle. These weeds are also used as potherbs and as source of medicine. Many times the Traditional Healers purchase it in bulk for round the year use. Rice fields are source of many medicinal herbs having regular and heavy demand in national and international drug markets.Tens of promising weedicides are available in Chhattisgarh but still most of the farmers believe in this unique Traditional approach i.e. “Management through utilization.” Weeds are managed without polluting the crop fields. This film is a part of report titled “Management through Utilization: Traditional Approach of Weed Management in India.” by Pankaj Oudhia. For details please visit http://www.pankajoudhia.com/index.html This Film is a part of plus 40,000 parts series. It is better to watch this film after reading the research documents in order to understand it in real sense.  

When I watched the video, my first impression was that it looked like back breaking drudgery.  Don Strong, Professor of Ecology at UC  Davis, must have had a similar reaction, because he responded with this post:

"The yield loss may vary from 10% to complete failure of the crop depending upon the situation. In general, the potential yield loss from weeds is less in wet-seeded rice than in dry-seeded rice (Fig. 1). In a survey of upland rice-producing countries covering 80% of the total production area, weeds were the most widely reported biological constraint to yield (Johnson 1996)."

from one of many, many publications on the threats of weeds in rice. Small holders are especially hard put by weeds because they cannot afford more labor to pull weeds and they cannot afford herbicides.

I wonder how much longer the son with his new dress shirt and bike will be around to help hand weed? With India and much of the rest of the developing world hurdling toward modern prosperity is this type of agriculture still viable?  Is it ethical?  With world population hurdling toward 10 billion can we afford to do agriculture this way?  Can we afford not to do agriculture in this way? Oh the questions that a simple video of folks pulling weeds can bring up!

P.S.  Note how the weeds they are pulling look very much like rice (at least to an untrained eye like myself).  Many rice weeds are marvel crop mimics that match their looks and life history to that of rice to avoid detection by weeders and to ensure efficient dispersal into another rice field.