Managing Weeds, Moving Beyond Herbicides: Highlights from the EUFRAS Coffee Break

On October 29, 2026, at 10:00 cet, EUFRAS hosted an engaging Coffee Break session in collaboration with the GOOD project, titled "Managing Weeds, Moving Beyond Herbicides". The online meeting gathered more than 70 registered participants from 24 countries across the world, bringing together agricultural advisors, researchers, managers etc.

The event was moderated by Pablo Asensio, board member of EUFRAS. The main presentation was delivered by Alexandros Tataridas, scientific project manager for the GOOD project and researcher at the Centre for Functional Ecology, University of Coimbra, Portugal.

Managing Weeds, Moving Beyond Herbicides: Highlights from the EUFRAS Coffee Break

Alexandros opened the session by outlining the major challenges facing European agriculture due to its heavy reliance on synthetic herbicides and chemical "tank mixtures". While chemical applications have historically offered quick control, continuous reliance has brought serious drawbacks: widespread herbicide resistance, soil and water pollution, declining pollinator populations, and rising input costs that create financial vulnerability for farmers. Despite European Green Deal ambitions, total pesticide use across Europe has remained largely stable over recent decades, but in other part of world the situation is different.

To overcome this chemical dependency, the GOOD project ("Agroecology for Weeds")—a 4-year Horizon Europe initiative—is pioneering Agroecological Weed Management (AWM). Alexandros emphasized that weeds should not be viewed merely as unwanted invaders, but as native flora that can offer vital ecosystem services when properly managed. Illustrating his points with photos from a successful organic farm in Portugal, he showed how cover crops and minimal soil disturbance protect against soil erosion, fix atmospheric nitrogen, build soil organic matter, improve water infiltration, and foster beneficial insects.

The presentation structured Agroecological Weed Management into three core pillars:

• Preventive measures: Implemented before crop establishment to reduce the weed seedbank.

• Cultural measures: Applied during the cropping cycle to maximize crop-weed competition through cover crop mixtures, intercropping, and strategic crop rotations.

• Curative measures: Utilizing non-chemical practices such as mulching, targeted grazing, roller crimpers, hot foam, and natural bioherbicides like pelargonic acid.

The GOOD project brings together 16 Living Labs across 9 European countries, which focuses on field trials with rye, field peas, and cover crops—to co-design and evaluate context-specific solutions.

Trials across the living labs demonstrated that cover crop mixtures effectively suppress weed emergence and allow for reduced herbicide application rates.

Alexandros also presented the Agroecological Weed Management Toolbox, a free decision-support system that enables advisors and farmers to select tailored, non-chemical weed management strategies based on their specific location, soil conditions, and crop types.

Following the presentation, Pablo Asensio opened the floor for an interactive Q&A session. The participants discussed several key practical topics as how agroecological weed management tools can be adapted to orchards, permanent crops, and specialized tree plantations. Whether agroecology allows herbicides as a "last resort" during gradual farm transitions, versus moving directly to certified organic farming standards.

As well discuss about the role of advisors, they role in organizing practical demonstration events, helping farmers overcome cognitive biases, and evaluating sustainable business models.

A warm thank you to Alexandros Tataridas for a truly interesting, insightful, and practical presentation tailored to the needs of modern agricultural advisors!

If you missed this online session, or would like to revisit the key insights, you can access the event recording on the EUFRAS YouTube channel, as well as Alexandros's presentation slides.

For those interested in exploring the topic further, the GOOD project offers several additional resources to support the adoption of agroecological weed management practices:

• GOOD website and repository of agroecological weed management practices

• GOOD Decision Support System to support agroecological weed management

We encourage agricultural advisors and other interested stakeholders to explore these resources and discover practical ways to support the transition towards more sustainable weed management!

See you next time – on November 26, when an "EUFRAS Coffee Break" event will take place in collaboration with the "Trans4Num" project. Further details will be published soon. Stay tuned!