Chemical control and herbicide resistance of hairy fleabane [Conyza bonariensis (L.) Cronquist] in Jordan

Two field experiments were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of 12 herbicides in controlling hairy fleabane [ Conyza bonariensis (L.) Cronquist] in a date palm orchard located in the central Jordan valley during the spring of 2017. Results showed that C. bonariensis resists paraquat (2.5, 5 and 7.5kgha -1 ), oxadiazon (5kgha -1 ) and oxyflourfen (3.3kgha -1 ) herbicides applied at normal or higher than the recommended rates. None of the three herbicides was significantly effective against the weed and treated plants continued growing normally similar to those of untreated control. Higher rates (10-fold of the recommended rates) of the same herbicides failed to control the weed. The effect of other tested herbicides on the weed was varied with bromoxynil plus MCPA (buctril ® M), 2,4-D- iso-octyl ester, glyphosate, glyphosate trimesium and triclopyr were most effective and completely controlled the weed at recommended rates of application. Testing paraquat, oxadiazon and oxyflourfen using the normal recommended and 10-fold higher rates on two populations of C. bonariensis grown from seeds of the date palm and al-Twal (another site in the Jordan Valley) weed populations and grown in pots under glasshouse conditions showed that Date palm population was resistant to the three herbicides at both application rates while al-Twal site population was highly susceptible and completely controlled at normal and high rates of the three herbicides. It is concluded that certain populations of C . bonariensis developed resistance to paraquat, oxadiazon and oxyflourfen but control of this weed was possible using other herbicides of different mechanism of action. Herbicide rotation or other nonchemical weed control methods have been suggested to prevent or reduce the buildup and spread of resistant populations of this weed species. These results represent the first report on herbicide resistance of C. bonariensis in Jordan.

MANAGEMENT OF GLYPHOSATE-RESISTANT HAIRY FLEABANE AND CONTRIBUTION OF THE PHYSIOLOGICAL POTENTIAL OF SEEDS TO RESISTANCE

ABSTRACT Hairy fleabane (Conyza bonariensis L.) is a major weed of the conventional crop systems. Therefore, the objectives of the present study were to assess the responses of glyphosate-susceptible (S) and -resistant (R) C. bonariensis at various developmental stages and evaluate the physiological potential of seeds to propose alternative herbicides for the control of this weed. Two experiments were performed in replicates. The first experiment was performed in a greenhouse, arranged in a 2 x 3 x 10 factorial design. Specifically, two hairy fleabane biotypes (S and R) at different developmental stages (I, II, and III) were subjected to various treatments (glyphosate, chlorimuron-ethyl, metsulfuron-methyl, diclosulam, ammonium glufosinate, paraquat, paraquat+diuron, diquat, 2,4-D, and control). Percentage control was evaluated at 7, 14, 21, and 28 days after the application of the treatments (DAT), and shoot dry mass (SDM) was measured at 28 DAT. The second experiment was performed in a laboratory to evaluate the physiological potential of seeds based on the weight of 1000 seeds (TSW); shoot length (SL), radicle length (RL), total length (TL), fresh seedling mass (FSM), dry seedling mass (DSM), accelerated aging (AA) and cold test (CT), and germination (G) in response to cold and accelerated aging. The alternative herbicides tested effectively controlled biotype R up to the stage -I. Seeds of biotype R showed higher physiological potential in terms of all analyzed variables and exhibited greater tolerance to adverse conditions during seedling establishment. Therefore, strategies for the management of glyphosate-resistant hairy fleabane should aim at preventing new seed production.

Germination ecology of hairy fleabane (Conyza bonariensis) and its implications for weed management

Hairy fleabane [Conyza bonariensis (L.) Cronquist] is a problematic weed in Australian no-till cropping systems. Consequently, a study was conducted to examine the effect of temperature, light, salt stress, osmotic stress, burial depth, and sorghum crop residue on germination and emergence in two populations (C and W: collected from chick pea [Cicer arietinum L.] and wheat [Triticum aestivum L.] fields, respectively) of C. bonariensis. Both populations were able to germinate over a wide range of alternating day/night temperatures (15/5 to 35/25 C); however, the C population had optimum (and similar) germination over the range of 20/10 and 30/20 C, while the W population showed maximum germination at 25/15 C. A negative relationship was observed between osmotic potential and germination, with 31% and 14% germination of the C and W populations at −0.6 MPa, respectively. These observations suggest that population C was more tolerant to higher osmotic potentials than population W. Seeds of both populations germinated when exposed to a wide range of sodium chloride levels (NaCl, 0 to 200 mM); however, beyond 200 mM NaCl, no germination was observed in either population. Maximum germination of the C (70%) and W (41%) populations was observed on the soil surface with no emergence from a burial depth of 1 cm. The application of sorghum residue at an amount of 6,000 kg ha−1 reduced emergence of the C and W populations by 55% and 58%, respectively, compared with the no-residue treatment. Knowledge gained from this study suggests that the following strategies could be used for more efficacious management of C. bonariensis: (1) a shallow-tillage operation to bury weed seeds in conventional tillage systems, and (2) retention of sorghum residue on the soil surface in no-till systems.

Conyza bonariensis growth and development according to thermal time accumulation and photoperiod

The objective of this work was to characterize the growth and development of hairy fleabane (Conyza bonariensis) according to thermal accumulation and photoperiod, at different sowing times, and to propose a scale representing the main plant development stages. The experiment was carried out with ten replicates in the 2011/2012 growing season. The sowing dates were: 05/31/2011, 07/04/2011, 08/03/2011, 09/09/2011, and 11/07/2011. Plant height (cm) and phenology were evaluated weekly. The duration of the different stages (days) and thermal time accumulation (°C day) were determined. The linear regression analysis showed that plant height was related to thermal time accumulation. Regardless of the sowing date, the vegetative stage had a longer duration (in days and in ºC day) than the reproductive stage. Sowing on 11/07/2011 promoted the shortening of the vegetative stage, and the rosette stage did not occur. Flowering was induced in the photoperiod between 12.5 and 13.5 hours of light, regardless of the sowing date. Slow growth was observed at lower temperature conditions, when plants accumulated 30.9 and 16.3°C day per centimeter of height for the 05/31/2011 and 11/07/2011 sowing dates, respectively. The phenology scale adequately predicts the development stages of hairy fleabane.

Glyphosate Applied at the Early Reproductive Stage Impairs Seed Production of Glyphosate-Resistant Hairy Fleabane

ABSTRACT: Glyphosate-resistant hairy fleabane [Conyza bonariensis (L.) Cronq.] is one of the most important weeds in the world. Among the factors that make this weed species widely distributed in the most diverse environments is the high seed production capacity and dispersal. Hairy fleabane plants not controlled by herbicide application regrowth and overcome crop canopy, use environmental resources, interfere with crops, and complete their life cycle by producing thousands of seeds and replenishing the seed bank. Management strategies that reduce production and viability of hairy fleabane seeds can be adopted within the integrated management to reduce the seed bank and prevent further infestations. In this way, experiments were carried out in a greenhouse and laboratory of seed analysis to evaluate the effect of glyphosate (1,480 g a.e. ha-1) on the production and viability of glyphosate-resistant hairy fleabane seeds when applied at the vegetative and reproductive stages. Seed production was reduced by 68.4 and 100% when glyphosate was applied on hairy fleabane plants at the vegetative and early reproductive stages, respectively, regarding to the control. The viability of hairy fleabane seeds was not influenced by treatments at the evaluated stages. However, glyphosate treatment reduced the hairy fleabane seed production when applied at the vegetative stage . Hairy fleabane seed production is not feasible when glyphosate is applied at the early reproductive stage.

Does the Glyphosate Treatment Interfere Negatively on RNA Integrity in Glyphosate-Resistant and -Sensitive Conyza bonariensis?

ABSTRACT: The hairy fleabane ( Conyza bonariensis (L.) Cronq.) is among the most problematic glyphosate-resistant weeds to manage around the world. In weed science, molecular approaches such as RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) and quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) have been employed to study molecular responses to glyphosate treatment in Conyza species. Glyphosate treatment leads to reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in plants which could damage the RNA. Degraded RNA is an issue and can compromise further molecular analysis. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate whether glyphosate treatment interferes negatively on RNA integrity of glyphosate-resistant and -sensitive hairy fleabane biotypes. Two experiments were performed using glyphosate doses from 0 to 11,840 g a.e. ha-1 and evaluated in a time-course until 288 hours after treatment. The total of 86 RNA samples were evaluated. The RNA integrity was evaluated in a Bioanalyzer 2100 equipment according to RNA integrity number (RIN) scores and electrophoresis gel. The RIN scores ranged from 5.1 to 9.0. Glyphosate doses do not reduce the RIN scores in both glyphosate-resistant and -sensitive biotypes of hairy fleabane. Visual and automatic analysis of electrophoresis gel show suitable results for all RNA samples, with well-defined bands at 28S and 18S positions and no degradation. The results of the analysis indicate that glyphosate treatment does not affect the RNA integrity of glyphosate-resistant and -sensitive biotypes of hairy fleabane until 288 and 192 hours after glyphosate treatment, respectively. The RNA integrity analysis provides useful results to evaluate the RNA condition for further analysis. However, the costs were around US$ 14.25 per sample, considering only reagents. These results are useful for planning future time-course experiments in Conyza spp. after glyphosate treatment.

Glyphosate Resistance Affect the Physiological Quality of Conyza bonariensis seeds

ABSTRACT: High seed production and dispersal capacity and glyphosate resistance are among the main factors that have made hairy fleabane (Conyza bonariensis) one of the most important and dispersed weeds in the world. Herbicide-resistant weeds populations may have fitness cost due to molecular, physiological, and biochemical changes. This study aimed to evaluate the physiological quality of seeds of Conyza spp. and determine whether glyphosate resistance causes fitness costs for resistant biotypes. Seeds from six hairy fleabane biotypes, three glyphosate-resistant and three -sensitive, with a resistance factor average of 11.7 were studied. Among the studied biotypes, five were identified as C. bonariensis and one as C. blakei. Seed analyses were performed in a completely randomized design with ten replications of 100 seeds each (1,000 seeds per biotype). The analyzed seeds were originated from second-generation self-pollinating plants with known segregation rate. The mean results indicate that, in relation to sglyphosate-sensitive biotypes of C. bonariensis, seeds from -resistant biotypes showed a 16% reduction in vigor and 13% in germination, a 44% increase in the number of empty seeds and approximately five times more viable dormant seeds. The lower physiological quality of glyphosate-resistant hairy fleabane seeds regarding to -sensitive indicates that resistance affect the seed’s physiology and causes a fitness costs. It implies a reduction of invasive potential and persistence in the environment of resistant biotypes. Therefore, in the absence of glyphosate as a selective factor, the frequency of resistant biotypes tends to decrease and increase the predominancy of glyphosate-sensitivre biotypes. However, the highest number of viable dormant seeds of resistant biotypes supplies the soil seed bank. All biotypes of C. bonariensis showed higher physiological quality of seeds when compared to C. blakei, indicating that the first species is more adaptably evolved for survival in agricultural and disturbed areas.