scholarly journals Managing Wicked Herbicide-Resistance: Lessons from the Field

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 475-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill Schroeder ◽  
Michael Barrett ◽  
David R. Shaw ◽  
Amy B. Asmus ◽  
Harold Coble ◽  
...  

AbstractHerbicide resistance is ‘wicked’ in nature; therefore, results of the many educational efforts to encourage diversification of weed control practices in the United States have been mixed. It is clear that we do not sufficiently understand the totality of the grassroots obstacles, concerns, challenges, and specific solutions needed for varied crop production systems. Weed management issues and solutions vary with such variables as management styles, regions, cropping systems, and available or affordable technologies. Therefore, to help the weed science community better understand the needs and ideas of those directly dealing with herbicide resistance, seven half-day regional listening sessions were held across the United States between December 2016 and April 2017 with groups of diverse stakeholders on the issues and potential solutions for herbicide resistance management. The major goals of the sessions were to gain an understanding of stakeholders and their goals and concerns related to herbicide resistance management, to become familiar with regional differences, and to identify decision maker needs to address herbicide resistance. The messages shared by listening-session participants could be summarized by six themes: we need new herbicides; there is no need for more regulation; there is a need for more education, especially for others who were not present; diversity is hard; the agricultural economy makes it difficult to make changes; and we are aware of herbicide resistance but are managing it. The authors concluded that more work is needed to bring a community-wide, interdisciplinary approach to understanding the complexity of managing weeds within the context of the whole farm operation and for communicating the need to address herbicide resistance.

Weed Science ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 64 (SP1) ◽  
pp. 627-640 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Barrett ◽  
Michael Barrett ◽  
John Soteres ◽  
David Shaw

Although the problem of herbicide resistance is not new, the widespread evolution of glyphosate resistance in weed species such as Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeriS. Wats.), common waterhemp (Amaranthus rudisSauer), and kochia [Kochia scoparia(L.) Schrad.] raised awareness throughout the agricultural community of herbicide resistance as a problem. Glyphosate-resistant weeds resulted in the loss of a simple, single herbicide option to control a wide spectrum of weeds that gave efficacious and economical weed management in corn (Zea maysL.), soybean [Glycine max(L.) Merr.], and cotton (Gossypium hirsutumL.) crops engineered for tolerance to this herbicide and planted over widespread areas of the South and Midwest of the United States. Beyond these crops, glyphosate is used for vegetation management in other cropping systems and in noncrop areas across the United States, and resistance to this herbicide threatens its continued utility in all of these situations. This, combined with the development of multiple herbicide-resistant weeds and the lack of commercialization of herbicides with new mechanisms of action over the past years (Duke 2012), caused the weed science community to realize that stewardship of existing herbicide resources, extending their useful life as long as possible, is imperative. Further, while additional herbicide tolerance traits are being incorporated into crops, weed management in these crops will still be based upon using existing, old, herbicide chemistries.


2011 ◽  
Vol 150 (6) ◽  
pp. 717-724 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. V. BAGAVATHIANNAN ◽  
J. K. NORSWORTHY ◽  
K. L. SMITH ◽  
P. NEVE

SUMMARYThe spread of herbicide resistance in barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crus-galli(L.) Beauv.) poses a serious threat to crop production in the southern United States. A thorough knowledge of the biology of barnyardgrass is fundamental for designing effective resistance-management programmes. In the present study, seed production of barnyardgrass in response to time of emergence was investigated in cotton and rice, respectively, in Fayetteville and Rohwer, Arkansas, over a 2-year period (2008–09). Barnyardgrass seed production was greater when seedlings emerged with the crop, but some seed production was observed even if seedlings emerged several weeks after crop emergence. Moreover, barnyardgrass seed production was highly variable across environments. When emerging with the crop (0 weeks after crop emergence (WAE)), barnyardgrass producedc. 35 500 and 16 500 seeds/plant in cotton, andc. 39 000 and 2900 seeds/plant in rice, in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Seed production was observed when seedlings emerged up to 5 WAE (2008) or 7 WAE (2009) in cotton and up to 5 WAE (2008, 2009) in rice; corresponding seed production wasc. 2500 and 1500 seeds/plant in cotton, andc. 14 700 and 110 seeds/plant in rice, in 2008 and 2009, respectively. The results suggest that cultural approaches that delay the emergence of barnyardgrass or approaches that make the associated crop more competitive will be useful in integrated management programmes. In the context of herbicide resistance management, it may be valuable to prevent seed return to the seedbank, irrespective of cohorts. The findings are vital for parameterizing herbicide resistance simulation models for barnyardgrass.


Weed Science ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald C. Thill ◽  
Carol A. Mallory-Smith

Weeds spread through movement of seeds and vegetative reproductive propagules. Pollen movement can spread weedy traits, such as herbicide resistance, between related weed and crop species. Weed seeds can spread short or long distances by natural plant dehiscence mechanisms, wind, water, animals, and man&s activities. This symposium paper is a practical review of short-distance spread of weed seeds in and between nearby arable fields and noncrop lands, examining some of the causes of spread and subsequent effects on crop production. Pollen movement, as it affects the spread of herbicide resistance, also is considered a component of short-distance weed spread. Specific weed management options can be used to reduce man-caused weed seed spread within and between nearby fields, thus reducing potential crop yield losses. Long-term management will be more difficult for weed seed spread by natural dispersal mechanisms.


1994 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 403-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald L. Wyse

Weed science has a long history of solving weed management problems for farmers. Over the last four decades most of the solutions to weed problems have been based on herbicide technology. Thus, most crop production systems in the United States rely heavily on herbicides as the primary method of weed management. During the last decade environmentalists, farmers, agricultural scientists, policy makers, and the general public have begun to question the long-term sustainability of conventional farming systems. The sustainability of these systems is being questioned because of environmental, social, and economic concerns caused by global competition, cost of production, soil erosion, water pollution, and concern over the quality of rural life. Weeds are the major deterrent to the development of more sustainable agriculture systems. Since weeds dictate most of the crop production practices (e.g., tillage, herbicides, cultivation, row spacing) weed scientists must become the leaders of collaborative integrated approaches to agriculture systems research. New crop production systems must be developed that are less destructive to the environment, are profitable, conserve energy, and support rural community development. The goal is to facilitate the development of ecologically based alternative methods of weed management that will support crop production systems that require less tillage and herbicide inputs. To accomplish this goal, research efforts must be radically expanded in weed/crop ecology and in the development of ecologically based technologies for weed management.


Weed Science ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 60 (SP1) ◽  
pp. 31-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason K. Norsworthy ◽  
Sarah M. Ward ◽  
David R. Shaw ◽  
Rick S. Llewellyn ◽  
Robert L. Nichols ◽  
...  

Herbicides are the foundation of weed control in commercial crop-production systems. However, herbicide-resistant (HR) weed populations are evolving rapidly as a natural response to selection pressure imposed by modern agricultural management activities. Mitigating the evolution of herbicide resistance depends on reducing selection through diversification of weed control techniques, minimizing the spread of resistance genes and genotypes via pollen or propagule dispersal, and eliminating additions of weed seed to the soil seedbank. Effective deployment of such a multifaceted approach will require shifting from the current concept of basing weed management on single-year economic thresholds.


2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (12) ◽  
pp. 1924-1929 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Blake Edwards ◽  
David L Jordan ◽  
Michael DK Owen ◽  
Philip M Dixon ◽  
Bryan G Young ◽  
...  

2011 ◽  
Vol 67 (7) ◽  
pp. 781-784 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason W Weirich ◽  
David R Shaw ◽  
Micheal DK Owen ◽  
Philip M Dixon ◽  
Stephen C Weller ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 431-436
Author(s):  
James T. Brosnan ◽  
Michael W. Barrett ◽  
Prasanta C. Bhowmik

AbstractHerbicide resistance has for decades been an increasing problem of agronomic crops such as corn and soybean. Several weed species have evolved herbicide resistance in turfgrass systems such as golf courses, sports fields, and sod production—particularly biotypes of annual bluegrass and goosegrass. Consequences of herbicide resistance in agronomic cropping systems indicate what could happen in turfgrass if herbicide resistance becomes broader in terms of species, distribution, and mechanisms of action. The turfgrass industry must take action to develop effective resistance management programs while this problem is still relatively small in scope. We propose that lessons learned from a series of national listening sessions conducted by the Herbicide Resistance Education Committee of the Weed Science Society of America to better understand the human dimensions affecting herbicide resistance in crop production provide tremendous insight into what themes to address when developing effective resistance management programs for the turfgrass industry.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document