Title: Herbicide-resistant crops: utilities and limitations for herbicide-resistant weed management
Abstract: Since 1996, genetically modified
herbicide-resistant (HR) crops, particularly glyphosate-resistant (GR) crops,
have transformed the tactics that corn, soybean, and cotton growers use to
manage weeds. The use of GR crops continues to grow, but weeds are adapting to
the common practice of using only glyphosate to control weeds. Growers using
only a single mode of action to manage weeds need to change to a more diverse
array of herbicidal, mechanical, and cultural practices to maintain the
effectiveness of glyphosate. Unfortunately, the introduction of GR crops and the
high initial efficacy of glyphosate often lead to a decline in the use of other
herbicide options and less investment by industry to discover new herbicide
active ingredients. With some exceptions, most growers can still manage their
weed problems with currently available selective and HR crop-enabled herbicides.
However, current crop management systems are in jeopardy given the pace at which
weed populations are evolving glyphosate resistance. New HR crop technologies
will expand the utility of currently available herbicides and enable new interim
solutions for growers to manage HR weeds, but will not replace the long-term
need to diversify weed management tactics and discover herbicides with new modes
of action. This paper reviews the strengths and weaknesses of anticipated weed
management options and the best management practices that growers need to
implement in HR crops to maximize the long-term benefits of current technologies
and reduce weed shifts to difficult-to-control and HR weeds. [Green, J. M &
Owen, M. D., (2010). Herbicide-resistant crops: utilities and
limitations for herbicide-resistant weed management. Journal of Agricultural
and Food Chemistry, On-line Jun 29]