Climate-Smart Weed Management in Sugarcane: Integrating Agronomic Innovations for Sustainable Production

Sugarcane, the main source of sugar, is an important crop worldwide, especially in tropical and subtropical areas. Weed interference, which may cause yield reductions of over 70% if unchecked, is one of the biggest barriers to its production. Weeds compete with sugarcane for essential resources such as light, water and nutrients and their pressure is further intensified by changes in climate and agricultural practices. The move to green harvesting and reduced tillage, driven by sustainability goals, has resulted in an unintended decrease in mechanical weed control, which has sparked concerns about herbicide resistance. Through the promotion of techniques that increase productivity, fortify resilience and lower greenhouse gas emissions, Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) provides a comprehensive framework to address the problem of weed management in this context. This review uses CSA to summarize the state of the art in weed control in sugarcane systems. It evaluates the effectiveness and limitations of existing methods, highlights regional variations and emphasizes the potential of precision agriculture tools, bio-based alternatives and integrated weed management (IWM). Along with identifying important research gaps, the review suggests future directions for creating weed control methods that are economical, flexible and environmentally sustainable. Climate-responsive, resource-efficient and resilient sugarcane production can be achieved by integrating CSA concepts into weed control.