In 1992, Egyptian scientists, working with ICARDA, pledged to tackle the problem of wild oat infestation in their wheat fields. The European Union donated over US$ 600,000 to help them do it. Six years on, Egyptian farmers are saving US$ 10.6 million a year just from reduced use of pesticides to control wild oats. And that's without counting the higher yields of wheat.

to 1996, work took place on defining suitable packages. It was a lot of work; combinations of components were tested at 66 on-farm sites in five Governorates. Using all the components together, certainly, was effective, but so was a combination of three; and, in some circumstances, just two. It was also found that hand-weeding, although expensive and ineffective against heavy infestation, could work on its own in the case of light infestations.

heat became a profitable crop in Egypt in the 1980s. In those years, the Egyptian Government freed agriculture from a number of regulations to make it financially rewarding for farmers. The result was a gratifying upsurge in both wheat production, and productivity--a process assisted by ICARDA's Nile Valley Regional Program, working with Egypt's national scientists.
       But many farmers turned to growing  wheat year after year. The result was infestation with wild oats. The chief culprits were Avena sterilis and A. fatua, and, to a lesser extent, A. sativa. New dwarf-wheat varieties adopted in Upper Egypt were particularly heavily infested. By the early 1990s, the Egyptian authorities estimated that about 100,000 ha were moderately or heavily infested, and that wheat yield losses were over 100,000 tonnes nationwide.
       Finding a wild oats control strategy was difficult. The morphology, or physical appearance, of wild oats make them hard to distinguish from wheat, particularly in the early growth stages, so hand-weeding entailed a serious risk; moreover, the labor was not always available, particularly in the New Lands. Herbicide has become very expensive in the last few years; agriculture is being deregulated, and it is no longer subsidized. Besides, the Government discourages more than one application of herbicide for environmental reasons, and a single application was not enough. The answer had to be found in a package of different control strategies, including cultural practices, suitable for the various regions of Egypt.   
      To find a solution, the Weed Control Section at Giza, part of Egypt's Agricultural Research Center (ARC), joined forces with the Nile Valley Regional Program of ICARDA. ICARDA's role was to provide technical support and backstopping, and administrative assistance. It also helped ARC negotiate a grant of US$ 617,000 from the European Union to fight wild oat infestation--and used part of this to train 30 researchers in weed control.
      That was in 1992. Six years on, everyone involved has reason to be proud of their efforts.
        In the beginning, the project had three basic activities. First, demonstrations took place in farmers' fields of the technology that was available. Second, on-farm experiments took place with farmers' participation, to try to develop suitable technology. During the first year alone, about 30 such experiments took place, testing each measure by itself. Third, back-up research experiments took place to find suitable packages.
       The first component included briefing extension agents on how to monitor infestation and apply the herbicides correctly. They were also trained in identifying wild oats in their early growth stages.
       Meanwhile, the development of a package took place mainly at Shandaweel and Mallawi stations in Upper and Middle Egypt. Part, at least, of the answer seemed to lie in rotation with berseem. Berseem is a forage legume which is cut four times a year--which means that the wild oats are cut as well. In any case, farmers need berseem for their animals, which helps to make the loss of a year's wheat production economic.     It accounts for about half the winter crop in

some areas, and is often followed by cotton or maize; it is good for the soil, raising subsequent cereal yields.
     Four years' trials with berseem rotation showed that it was a better option for cutting wild-oat infestation than hand-weeding or herbicide application.
       The researchers also tried the Herrati sowing method. Under this method, farmers irrigate to raise the weeds and then plow them under before they sow the wheat. This met with 60-70% success--good, but not enough. Even 10 wild-oat plants per square meter were enough to damage the wheat crop.
       Next, there were seed rate trials. Raising the seed rate, from 120 to 150 kg/ha, helped the wheat fight the oats. This proved about 25% effective.
       Hand-weeding was also looked at. Given the high cost of labor, it is difficult, but it can work, and the wild oats can be fed to animals if taken in their early growth stages. The researchers found that in areas where the labor was available, and where workers had been taught to identify the wild oats, up to 80% success was possible.
       Then, there were herbicide trials. The researchers' knew that it was not possible to eliminate the use of herbicide entirely because in some areas, such as the New Lands, hand-weeding is impracticable due to labor shortages. The researchers came up with a number of recommendations using Grasp,

       The next step was to transfer this information to farmers. This is always easier when the technology has been developed in farmers' fields; their neighbors get to see it. The techniques were used in 100 demonstration plots every year, spread over 11 Governorates; in the course of five years, about 500 demonstration plots were run in collaboration between farmers, researchers and extension agents. About 600 extension agents were trained in identification and control of wild oats. Publicity tools were used: posters, leaflets and booklets, plus popular media. It was found out later that the sources of farmers' knowledge about wild oats control were multiple: weed scientists and extension agents (80%), television (71%), demonstration plots (59.5%), seminars (63.4%) and printed materials (44.3%).
        Researchers were pleased that 61% of farmers adopted the complete package of  recommendations for their area; if one includes those who did so partially, the figure would be 68%. The whole project has followed the model for technology transfer devised by ICARDA's Nile Valley Regional Program (NVRP), which has been active in the region since 1979. Generous initial support from IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development) effectively leveraged considerable support for NVRP from other donors, including the European Union, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden.
       What has been the impact of the wild-oat control package? Researchers managed a yield increase in previously infested plots of 2.01 t/ha. Farmers could not quite do this, but there has been a yield increase of 0.5 t/ha in infested plots nationwide, and, in the last year alone, extra wheat production is calculated at 54,132 tonnes. Savings to farmers from reduced use of herbicides are calculated at LE 36 million--about US$ 10.6 million. These two factors together far outweigh any extra costs incurred through, say, hand-weeding. Now the methodology is being transferred to other crops in Egypt. The project is offering environmental benefits, increasing food security, and putting more money into farmers' pockets.

Dr El Hassanein El Sherbini Hassanein
is Head of Weed Control Research
Section, Agricultural Research Center,
Giza, Egypt; he is also Coordinator of
the Wild Oat Program.

Suffix, Topic and Puma-S, and found them very effective. But the cost--around US$ 80 per hectare--was high, and even if 90% of the wild oats were destroyed by one application, the remaining 10% were still enough to cause damage. And, a second application, as stated above, was both uneconomic and discouraged by the Govern-ment for environmental reasons.
       Finally, roguing of wild oats in lightly-infested areas and the use of clean wheat seeds were also considered. None of these strategies was adequate on its own. But all were potential weapons in the war against wild oats. Having tested the weapons, it was time to decide on the battle order! From 1993