resistance paradox – A Plant Out of Place

The cost of preventing herbicide resistance

November 16, 2015February 15, 2018 - by Andrew Kniss

In my last post, I reviewed some recent research that suggests one of the best ways to delay the evolution of herbicide resistant weeds is to use mixtures of effective herbicides. Resistance is initially a very rare trait within a weed species, so the probability that any particular individual plant will be resistant to two herbicides is extremely low. The second herbicide is likely to kill any weeds that are resistant to the first herbicide, and vice versa. The theory behind this practice …

Agroecology / Crops / GMO / Herbicide Resistance / Herbicides / Imported from Control Freaks / Research / Sustainable Agriculture

Want to reduce herbicide resistance? Spray more herbicides!

October 27, 2015February 15, 2018 - by Andrew Kniss

A while ago, I wrote a post summarizing the pros and cons of using a regulatory framework to slow the evolution of herbicide resistant weeds. As a part of that post, I suggested there exists a “resistance management paradox.” In a nutshell, to reduce the problem of herbicide resistant weeds, one important strategy may be to actually use more herbicide. From my previous post: “The only way to assuredly prevent herbicide resistance from evolving is never to apply the herbicide; but if we are going to …