Glasshouse experiments were conducted to evaluate whether herbicide application rates could be reliably reduced without compromising the efficacy of the herbicide. The seedling, and vegetative and preflowering plants of nodding thistle (Carduus nutans) and hairy buttercup (Ranunculus sardous) were treated with different rates of glyphosate or a mixture of picloram and triclopyr. Half of the plants were well-watered at all times while the other half was moisture-stressed for 1 week before the herbicide treatments were applied. Hairy buttercup was more susceptible to glyphosate than nodding thistle, while both were equally susceptible to the picloram/triclopyr mixture. Moisture stress significantly reduced the efficacy of both herbicide treatments, regardless of the plant development stage or the herbicide rate applied.
There have been horizon scans (strategic science reviews) recently for weed biology, but none that focus on weeds of pastures. Here we report on our process for writing the Pastoral Sector Weeds Research Strategy (2018)(2019)(2020)(2021)(2022)(2023)(2024)(2025)(2026)(2027)(2028) for New Zealand and then follow-up with the focus of the current article, a horizon scan for pastoral weed science. Scientists and stakeholders involved in weeds and pasture systems participated in two workshops to determine which issues and opportunities are emerging as drivers of innovation for weed science and weed management. We identified 11 major issues and 46 subordinate ones, but the three most highly ranked major issues were: 1) anticipated reductions in our access to herbicides; 2) rethinking weed management under an ecosystem services paradigm; 3) responding to a regulatory push for farm system planning designed to address biosecurity risk, biodiversity, carbon budgets, contaminants, and nutrient run-off in addition to production value. The workshop participants were asked to rank the 3 major issues (and some subordinate ones) using the criteria: 1) is this a horizon (is the issue or question likely to become more important in 10-20 years?); 2) will it require stretchy science (is the question or issue currently not well addressed by the science community?); 3) is it transformative (will successful scientific research in this area lead to significant changes to weed management in pastures?). Most of the issues identified are shared in pastoral systems worldwide and involve reducing environmental footprint of farming while maintaining productivity.
Chemicals are widely recommended for the suppression of weed in crop land. This paper attempts to a greater integration of ideas into the development of herbicide resistance. This may lead researchers to focus less on simply defining herbicide resistance and more towards comprehensive investigations of the resistance development. Weed expert in collaboration with plant biologists can work in synergy to come up with better approach and innovation aimed to curtain herbicides resistance challenges. Chemical herbicides exert undue pressure on weed fitness and the diversity of weed community's changes over time in response to both herbicides and other strategies imposed on them. Repeatedly and intensively, the regular application of herbicides with similar effect may swiftly result in population shifts to tolerant, difficult to suppress and ultimately result to weed community that is herbicide resistant, particularly in absence of using herbicides with different modes of action. Weed expert and evolutionary biologists have to work in synergy toward an improve and broader knowledge of plant resistant development. This collaboration is likely to proffer innovative solutions to the herbicide resistance challenges.
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