The Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Kerala Agricultural University, is organising a two-day International Seminar on the theme “Climate–Weed Nexus: Innovations for Sustainable Farming (CWIS–2025)” during 27–28 November 2025 at College of Agriculture, Vellayani.
The seminar aims to bring together researchers, academicians, industry professionals, and policymakers to discuss the challenges posed by climate change on weed dynamics and explore innovative, sustainable strategies for resilient farming systems.
Seminar Themes
Theme 1: Technological innovations for climate-smart farming
- Ecological and cultural strategies for climate-smart agriculture
- Robotics, automation, and digital tools in climate-resilient farming
- Decision support systems for crop management under variable climates
- Biotechnological advances for climate-smart farming
- Precision weed management using drones, sensors, and AI
- New herbicide formulations and novel application techniques
- Advances in mechanical weed management
Theme 2: Climate change and weed dynamics in crops and cropping systems
- Shifts in weed flora under changing climate regimes
- Weed biology, ecology, and adaptability in stress environments
- Emerging invasive and alien weeds in cropping systems
- Weed–crop competition under altered temperature, CO₂, and rainfall patterns
- Crop–weed microbiome interactions under climate stress
- Crop diversification and resilient cropping systems for weed suppression
- Climate projections and weed risk mapping
Theme 3: Efficient resource use for climate change adaptation and mitigation
- Climate-resilient interventions for productivity enhancement
- Novel technologies for weed management/weed utilisation
- Nano herbicides, bio herbicides, allelopathy, and plant-based weed control innovations
- Climate-resilient herbicide uses and herbicide resistance management
- Climate-resilient integrated weed management (IWM) approaches
- Agro-ecological approaches to weed management
- Weed management in organic production systems
Theme 4: New directions in climate-smart farming for resilient production systems
- Conservation agriculture towards resource use efficiency
- Building resilient agro-ecosystems, including urban and peri-urban agriculture
- Herbicide behaviour in soil and water
- Biodiversity conservation: weeds as boon or bane
- Socio-economic impacts and farmers’ perspectives on weed–climate linkages
- Policies, extension–industry linkages, and collaborative approaches for sustainable farming
- Participatory approaches: farmer innovations and traditional knowledge
- Economics of weed management under climate uncertainty
