Jointly developing knowledge and tools for preventive and operational approaches to agroecological weed management. Part I: Data collection and synthesis using digital tools

The COPRAA project aimed to work with practitioners in the field to develop knowledge, tools and operational preventive management approaches for advisers and farmers, with a view to reconciling agricultural production, economic viability, biodiversity and the reduced use – or even complete avoidance – of herbicides in arable farming. This article presents (1) the generation of knowledge on the biophysical processes determining the effects of cultivation techniques and the biological regulation of weeds, based on experiments under controlled conditions and in the field, followed by (2) the synthesis of this knowledge into various digital tools (FLORSYS, DECIFLORSYS, OPTIFLORSYS, OdERA). The evaluation and design of varietal ideotypes and cropping systems will be presented in Part II of this article.