Pre-emergence herbicides for maize crops

Unlocking Maize's Full Potential

"Pre-emergence herbicides for maize crops" is an innovative agricultural technology designed to improve weed management in maize cultivation across Sub-Saharan Africa. This technology enhances maize crop performance during its critical early growth stages by applying chemical agents to prevent weed seedlings from developing roots. By effectively reducing weed encroachment and competition for vital resources such as light, nutrients, and moisture, this technology accelerates the growth of maize crops and ultimately increases grain yields. It provides a cost-effective and sustainable solution to address the challenges associated with high weed infestation, labor-intensive weed removal, and reduced maize grain productivity in the region.

This technology is TAAT1 validated.

7•7

Scaling readiness: idea maturity 7/9; level of use 7/9

Project adoption1

Technology integrated in the ENSURE- East Africa project.

Project	Beneficiaries	Budget	Duration	Key figures
ENSURE- East Africa Enabling Environments for Sustainable Regional Agriculture Extension	3,000,000 farmers.	13.14 million	2024–2027	149,940 farmer leaders & trained farmers. 9,996 trained. 2 → 3.5 t/ha.

See project details ›

Adults 18 and over: Positive high

The poor: Positive medium

Under 18: Positive low

Women: Positive low

Climate adaptability: Highly adaptable

Farmer climate change readiness: Significant improvement

Carbon footprint: Same amount of carbon released

Environmental health: Greatly improves environmental health

Water use: A bit less water used

Biodiversity: Harms biodiversity

Problem

High Weed Encroachment: Weeds in farmlands across Sub-Saharan Africa are a significant problem, leading to the loss of water and nutrients from the soil, reducing grain yields and returns on investments in agriculture.
Labor-Intensive Weed Removal: Manual or mechanical weed removal is labor-intensive and expensive, often requiring 2-3 repetitions to effectively control weed encroachment.
Risk of Weed Seed Dispersal: Other weed control methods may inadvertently promote seed dispersal from weeds, resulting in long-term issues and recurrent herbicide use.
Necessity for Multiple Herbicide Applications: In areas with high weed encroachment, multiple herbicide applications are often needed throughout the growing season, making early-stage control important to increase the effectiveness of post-emergence herbicides.
Regional Variability: The specific formulation of chemical agents and timing of herbicide application can vary based on the types of weeds present, local weather patterns, and farming practices.

Solution

Effective Weed Control: Pre-emergence herbicides prevent weed growth during the critical early stages of maize development, reducing competition for light, nutrients, and moisture.
Increased Grain Productivity: By eliminating weed competition, these herbicides significantly increase maize grain yields, making them a valuable tool for improving food production.
Fertilizer Efficiency: Maize crops treated with pre-emergence herbicides demonstrate improved fertilizer efficiency, ensuring that applied nutrients are used more effectively by the crop.
Resilience to Drought: The use of pre-emergence herbicides enhances maize crop resilience to drought conditions, a crucial advantage for regions with erratic rainfall patterns.
Seed Dispersal Prevention: Pre-emergence herbicides virtually eliminate the seed dispersal of weeds, leading to long-term reductions in weed encroachment and less need for recurrent herbicide use and labor.
Enhanced Effectiveness of Post-Emergence Herbicides: Early-stage weed control through pre-emergence herbicides complements the effectiveness of post-emergence herbicides, particularly in areas with high weed encroachment.
Reduced Time Pressure for Pest Control: By preventing weed damage during the initial growth stages, pre-emergence herbicides alleviate time pressures for additional pest control measures during the growing season.
Suitability for Various Climates: Pre-emergence herbicides are effective in a range of climates, from humid to semi-arid, and offer short- and long-term benefits in weed management.
Customizable Formulations: Different herbicide formulations are available to address specific weed types found in maize crops, allowing farmers to choose the most suitable option.
Enhanced Herbicidal Activity: Adjuvants can be added to herbicide formulations to improve herbicidal activity, making the application process more efficient and effective.
Food Security and Soil Fertility: Pre-emergence herbicides, when combined with proper soil fertility management, contribute to increased grain production and food security, particularly in regions with degraded soils and low fertility.

Key points to design your program

Pre-Emergence Herbicides improve weed management, increase maize productivity, and reduce labor burdens by controlling weeds during the early stages of crop development. The technology can be integrated into food security, maize development, sustainable crop management, mechanization, and climate resilience programs. Its adoption contributes to SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).

To integrate this technology into your project, plan and budget for the following activities and prerequisites:

Assess weed infestation levels, labor constraints, and maize production challenges in target farming areas.
Facilitate access to quality pre-emergence herbicides, spraying equipment, and advisory services adapted to local weed species, farming systems, and agroecological conditions.
Support training for farmers, cooperatives, extension agents, women’s groups, and youth agripreneurs on safe herbicide handling, application techniques, integrated weed management, and environmental stewardship.
Invest in demonstration plots, extension services, and digital advisory platforms to improve awareness and adoption of effective weed management practices.
Promote integrated weed management approaches that combine pre-emergence herbicides with good agronomic practices to improve crop establishment, fertilizer efficiency, and drought resilience.
Support the participation of women and youth in agricultural service provision and mechanized spraying businesses to create employment opportunities and improve access to weed control services.
Establish partnerships with IITA, agro-input suppliers, extension services, research institutes, cooperatives, and private sector actors to support scaling and sustainability.
Track key indicators such as weed infestation levels, maize yields, weeding costs, fertilizer-use efficiency, and adoption of improved weed management practices.

0.7 - 1.6 Ton per hectare

Grain yield increase

349 USD

Gross margin per hectare

IP

Open source / open access

Scaling Readiness describes how complete a technology\’s development is and its ability to be scaled. It produces a score that measures a technology\’s readiness along two axes: the level of maturity of the idea itself, and the level to which the technology has been used so far.

Each axis goes from 0 to 9 where 9 is the “ready-to-scale” status. For each technology profile in the e-catalogs we have documented the scaling readiness status from evidence given by the technology providers. The e-catalogs only showcase technologies for which the scaling readiness score is at least 8 for maturity of the idea and 7 for the level of use.

The graph below represents visually the scaling readiness status for this technology, you can see the label of each level by hovering your mouse cursor on the number.

Scaling readiness score of this technology

Maturity of the idea 7 out of 9

Semi-controlled environment: prototype

Level of use 7 out of 9

Common use by projects NOT connected to technology provider

Maturity of the idea										Level of use
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

Project	Beneficiaries	Budget	Duration	Key figures
ENSURE- East Africa Enabling Environments for Sustainable Regional Agriculture Extension	3,000,000 farmers.	13.14 million	2024–2027	149,940 farmer leaders & trained farmers. 9,996 trained. 2 → 3.5 t/ha.

Countries with a green colour: Tested & adopted
Countries with a bright green colour: Adopted
Countries with a yellow colour: Tested
Countries with a blue colour: Testing ongoing

Countries where the technology is being tested or has been tested and adopted
Country	Testing ongoing	Tested	Adopted
Cameroon	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Ethiopia	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Ghana	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Kenya	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Malawi	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Nigeria	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Rwanda	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
South Africa	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Tanzania	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Uganda	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Zambia	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted

This technology can be used in the colored agro-ecological zones. Any zones shown in white are not suitable for this technology.

Agro-ecological zones where this technology can be used
AEZ	Subtropic - warm	Subtropic - cool	Tropic - warm	Tropic - cool
Arid
Semiarid
Subhumid
Humid

Source: HarvestChoice/IFPRI 2009

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that are applicable to this technology.

Goal 2: zero hunger

Goal 5: gender equality

Goal 13: climate action

Dilution of Herbicides: Start by diluting concentrated herbicides in water according to the prescribed ratio and following recommended safety precautions. This ensures the chemical agents are properly activated.
Application Equipment: Herbicide solutions can be applied to farmer fields using either backpack systems with one or two spraying nozzles or tractor-mounted systems equipped with multiple spraying nozzles. The choice of equipment significantly affects herbicide placement, the effectiveness of weed control, and labor requirements.
Protective Clothing: Workers applying herbicides should wear appropriate protective clothing to avoid direct contact with chemical agents. This includes gloves, masks, and other protective gear.
Soil Moisture: Ensure that the soil is at an optimal moisture level for herbicide application. It should be moist but not too wet or too dry. The timing of herbicide application should be synchronized with rainfall or carried out approximately one week after tilling the croplands but no later than when maize plants are 10 cm tall.
Field Selection: Prioritize the use of chemical weed control management technologies on fields with the highest levels of weed encroachment and the presence of difficult-to-control weed species. This approach maximizes the potential for yield and income gain and helps steadily reduce weed infestations on farms.