Medicinal and aromatic plants as an emerging source of bioherbicides.

Weeds cause higher reductions in crop yield than any other pest or disease; yet they remain underestimated in tropical agriculture. Controlling composite culture of weeds in the crop field is difficult. Continuous use of synthetic herbicides may have an adverse impact on human health and the agro-ecosystem. Natural products such as essential oils, plant extracts, allelochemicals, agricultural by-products and some microorganisms are being studied in this area since they are environmentally friendly and have low toxicity. Being ecologically stable, they may provide an alternative to synthetic herbicides. In this article, we document the research done across the world to establish medicinal and aromatic plants as source of bioherbicides for sustainable agricultural production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]