Navigating a Critical Juncture for Sustainable Weed Management

Agricultural weed management has become entrenched in a single tactic—herbicide—resistant crops—and needs greater emphasis on integrated practices that are sustainable over the long term. In response to the outbreak of glyphosate-resistant weeds, the seed and agrichemical industries are developing crops that are genetically modified to have combined resistance to glyphosate and synthetic auxin herbicides. This technology will allow these herbicides to be used over vastly expanded areas and will likely create three interrelated challenges for sustainable weed management. First, crops with stacked herbicide resistance are likely to increase the severity of resistant weeds. Second, these crops will facilitate a significant increase in herbicide use, with potential negative consequences for environmental quality. Finally, the short-term fix provided by the new traits will encourage continued neglect of public research and extension in integrated weed management. Here, we discuss the risks to sustainable agriculture from the new resistant crops and present alternatives for research and policy.

[1]  D. Mortensen,et al.  Integrating Multiple Tactics for Managing Weeds in High Residue No-Till Soybean , 2011 .

[2]  R. M. Cicchillo,et al.  Robust crop resistance to broadleaf and grass herbicides provided by aryloxyalkanoate dioxygenase transgenes , 2010, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[3]  Division on Earth,et al.  The Impact of Genetically Engineered Crops on Farm Sustainability in the United States , 2010 .

[4]  S. Powles,et al.  Evolution in action: plants resistant to herbicides. , 2010, Annual review of plant biology.

[5]  Li Hongwen,et al.  Current status of adoption of no-till farming in the world and some of its main benefits. , 2010 .

[6]  J. Keeling,et al.  Cotton Growth and Yield Response to Simulated 2,4-D and Dicamba Drift , 2009, Weed Technology.

[7]  Richard G. Smith,et al.  Weed Science Research and Funding: A Call to Action , 2009, Weed Science.

[8]  W. G. Johnson,et al.  Influence of Weed Management Practices and Crop Rotation on Glyphosate-Resistant Horseweed (Conyza canadensis) Population Dynamics and Crop Yield-Years III and IV , 2009 .

[9]  Rufus Isaacs,et al.  Frontiers inEcology and the Environment Maximizing arthropod-mediated ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes : the role of native plants , 2008 .

[10]  Edward C. Luschei,et al.  Effects of landscape composition on spread of an herbicide-resistant weed , 2009, Landscape Ecology.

[11]  D. Schimmelpfennig,et al.  U.S. Public Agricultural Research: Changes in Funding Sources and Shifts in Emphasis, 1980-2005 , 2009 .

[12]  P. Westra,et al.  Inheritance of Resistance to The Auxinic Herbicide Dicamba in Kochia (Kochia scoparia) , 2009, Weed Science.

[13]  P. Dixon,et al.  Agronomic and Economic Performance Characteristics of Conventional and Low-External-Input Cropping Systems in the Central Corn Belt , 2008 .

[14]  S. Powles,et al.  Frequency and distribution of herbicide resistance in Raphanus raphanistrum populations randomly collected across the Western Australian wheatbelt , 2007 .

[15]  J. Teasdale,et al.  Potential long-term benefits of no-tillage and organic cropping systems for grain production and soil improvement , 2007 .

[16]  T. Clemente,et al.  Dicamba Resistance: Enlarging and Preserving Biotechnology-Based Weed Management Strategies , 2007, Science.

[17]  Stephen B. Powles,et al.  Management Strategies for Herbicide-resistant Weed Populations in Australian Dryland Crop Production Systems , 2007, Weed Technology.

[18]  Mark J. VanGessel,et al.  Temporal and spatial dynamics of long-distance Conyza canadensis seed dispersal , 2006 .

[19]  L. Glenna,et al.  Considering the Role of the University in Conducting Research on Agri-biotechnologies , 2006 .

[20]  Rodney T. Venterea,et al.  Carbon and Nitrogen Storage are Greater under Biennial Tillage in a Minnesota Corn-Soybean Rotation , 2006 .

[21]  D. Pimentel,et al.  Environmental, Energetic, and Economic Comparisons of Organic and Conventional Farming Systems , 2005 .

[22]  S. Senseman,et al.  Determining Exposure to Auxin-Like Herbicides. I. Quantifying Injury to Cotton and Soybean1 , 2004, Weed Technology.

[23]  R. K. Peterson,et al.  A comparative ecological risk assessment for herbicides used on spring wheat: the effect of glyphosate when used within a glyphosate-tolerant wheat system , 2004, Weed Science.

[24]  Honggang Zheng,et al.  Understanding auxinic herbicide resistance in wild mustard: physiological, biochemical, and molecular genetic approaches , 2001, Weed Science.

[25]  D. Peterson,et al.  Soybean (Glycine max) Response to Simulated Drift from Selected Sulfonylurea Herbicides, Dicamba, Glyphosate, and Glufosinate , 1999, Weed Technology.

[26]  S. Padgette,et al.  Perspectives on Glyphosate Resistance , 1997, Weed Technology.

[27]  R. L. Blevins,et al.  Tillage and Cover Crop Management for Soil Water Conservation , 1990 .

[28]  C. J. West,et al.  Effects of 2,4‐D butyl vapour on the growth of six crop species , 1987 .

[29]  R. Behrens,et al.  Dicamba Volatility , 1979, Weed Science.

[30]  J. Maybank,et al.  Droplet and Vapor Drift from Butyl Ester and Dimethylamine Salt of 2,4-D , 1972, Weed Science.

[31]  Stephen B. Powles,et al.  Glyphosate-Resistant Crops and Weeds: Now and in the Future , 2009 .

[32]  R. Anderson.  Rotation Design: A Critical Factor for Sustainable Crop Production in a Semiarid Climate: A Review , 2009 .

[33]  G. Norton,et al.  Winners and Losers: Formula versus Competitive Funding of Agricultural Research , 2006 .

[34]  D. Andow,et al.  Multifunctional Agriculture in the United States , 2005 .

[35]  C. Boerboom.  FIELD CASE STUDIES OF DICAMBA MOVEMENT TO SOYBEANS , 2004 .

[36]  C. Staver,et al.  Ecological management of agricultural weeds , 2001 .

[37]  C. Staver,et al.  Ecological Management of Agricultural Weeds: Frontmatter , 2001 .

[38]  I. Heap.  International survey of herbicide-resistant weeds , 1997 .

[39]  B. Maxwell,et al.  Populations genetics and the evolution of herbicide resistance in weeds , 1994 .