Abstract
Weeds have continually interrupted crop plants since their
domestication, leading to a greater yield loss compared to diseases and
pests that necessitated to practice weed control measures. The control
of weeds is crucial to ensure the availability of sufficient food for
rapidly increasing human population. Currently, the chemical
(herbicides) weed control is the most effective, reliable, and widely
used method of weed management programs. The application of herbicides
for weed control practices called for the urgency to develop herbicide
resistant (HR) crops. Recently, the genome editing tools, especially
CRISPR-Cas9 has brought innovation in genome editing technology that
opens up new possibilities to provide sustainable farming in modern
agricultural industry. To date, several non-GM (genetically modified) HR
crops have been developed through genome editing that can present a
leading role to combat weed problem along with increased crop
productivity to meet increasing food demand around the world. Here, we
present various techniques of weed control, approaches for herbicide
resistance development, and possible advantages and limitations of
genome editing in herbicide resistance. We also discuss how genome
editing would be effective in combating intensive weed problem and what
would be the impact of genome-edited HR crops in agriculture.