(Summary)
Farmers in Illinois have noticed over the last few years that the invasive waterhemp weed has become resistant to chemical herbicides such as Callisto, Impact, and Laudis. Stephanie Henry from AgWeek reports that University of Illinois weed scientists “have identified two unique mechanisms in the plant that have allowed the weed to “get around” these herbicides.”
The researchers looked at the genes that the herbicides target in waterhemp, “expecting to find signs of a mutation in the plant’s…gene sequence, expression, or in reduced herbicide absorption.” Instead, Henry reports, they found that the waterhemp had developed a mechanism of herbicide resistance similar to that found naturally in corn.
Read the full, original story here: “Herbicide resistance in waterhemp”
