Herbicide resistance is the evolutionary response of weeds to the selection pressure caused by repeated application of the same active ingredient. It can result from two different mechanisms, known as target site resistance (TSR) and non-target site resistance (NTSR). In addition to single-herbicide resistance, multiple resistance can occur due to herbicides selection or accumulation of resistance genes by cross-pollination. The aim of this research was to investigate the suspect of multiple herbicide resistance of Sumatran Fleabane (Conyza sumatrensis (Retz.) E.Walker) to herbicides frequently used as a burndown application. Dose-responses in a whole-plant assay were carried out to investigate multiple-resistance of Sumatran fleabane to paraquat, saflufenacil, diuron, 2,4-D and glyphosate. Results indicated that the resistance index (ratio R/S) based on herbicide rate to cause 50% mortality (LD 50 ) were 25.51, 1.39, 7.29, 1.84 and 7.55 for paraquat, saflufenacil, diuron, 2,4-D and glyphosate, respectively. Based on herbicide rate required to cause a 50% reduction in plant growth (GR 50 ), the resistant index were 51.83, 14.10, 5.05, 3.96 and 32.90 for the same herbicides, respectively. Our results confirmed multiple resistance of Conyza sumatrensis from Paraná-Brazil to herbicides from five-mode of-action. This was the first report of Conyza sumatrensis resistant to 2,4-D and the first case of Conyza sumatrensis presenting multiple resistant to herbicides from fivemode of-action in the world.

Sourgrass (Digitaria insularis L.) and fleabane (Conyza spp. L.) constitute a major challenge to weed management in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] production systems in Brazil, especially when both are resistant to glyphosate and present concurrently. The aim of this study was to evaluate the interaction of haloxyfop-P-methyl [methyl(R)-2{4-{3-chloro-5(trifluoromethyl)-2-pyridyloxy] phenoxy} propanoate] and 2,4-D [2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid-N-methylmethanamine] to control sourgrass at three to four tillers and flowering stages and 12-to 15-cm fleabane at vegetative stage. The experiments were arranged in a randomized complete block design with four replicates and were conducted twice. Treatments were composed of haloxyfop-P-methyl and 2,4-D applied sequentially at 3-, 6-, and 12-d intervals.Treatments also included an untreated check, haloxyfop-P-methyl, and 2,4-D sequentially (without interval) and stand-alone applications of both herbicides. All treatments across experiments completely controlled fleabane plants, except haloxyfop-P-methyl alone. Haloxyfop-P-methyl applied ≥6 d before 2,4-D controlled flowering and three-to four-tiller sourgrass plants at rates of 50 and 100%, respectively. Based on results of this study, haloxyfop-P-methyl should be applied ≥6 d before 2,4-D in a sequential application structure to control fleabane and sourgrass (three or four tillers) when present concurrently.

In this work, we evaluated the short time-induced oxidative stress-mediated rapid metabolic and physiological responses of resistant and susceptible Sumatran fleabane [Conyza sumatrensis (Retz.) E. Walker; syn.: Erigeron sumatrensis Retz.] to 2,4-D herbicide. Fixed conditions (25 °C and 65 ±5% relative humidity), we assayed injury symptoms, chlorophyll a fluorescence and antioxidative systems of both resistant and susceptible biotypes to 2,4-D (1005 g a.e. ha-1). Under 15°C vs 25°C temperatures and light and dark conditions, oxidative stress-mediated damage was assayed on plants that received 2,4-D herbicide applications. The injury symptoms observed in the 2,4-D resistant biotype were rapid necrosis in leaves within 30 min, with the re-establishment of normal growth within 1- to 2-weeks after 2,4-D treatment. The basal antioxidant enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) in the resistant biotype were greater than to the susceptible, though the activities of all enzymes generally did not differ between untreated and treated in the resistant biotype. The resistant biotype showed great reduction (at 1 and 4 h after application) in the photosynthetic electron transport chain performance index, while in the susceptible biotype these metabolic changes were detected only after 4 h. The resistant biotype recovered from the foliar damage 1- to 2-weeks after 2,4-D application, while the susceptible biotype was controlled. The production of H2O2 was responsive to temperature and increased faster in the 2,4-D-resistant biotype than in the susceptible one at both 15°C and 25°C; however, there was a greater increase at 25°C in the resistant biotype. The H2O2 production was not light-dependent in 2,4-D-resistant C. sumatrensis, with increases even under dark conditions. The 2,4-D resistant biotype showed rapid photosynthetic damage, possibly due to the rapid necrosis and leaf disruption, and increased the H2O2 content compared to the susceptible biotype.

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ABSTRACT Soil moisture can alter the transport and permanence of pre-emergent herbicides. The objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of water availability in the soil on the leaching of a commercial mixture of the herbicides imazapyr + imazapic, as well as the carryover effect of this herbicide in corn planted in succession to soybean. The experiment was carried out in leaching columns in a randomized block design with 4 replications. A 3x3x2 factorial scheme was used, with factor A being the irrigation (130%, 100% and 70% of field capacity (CC)), factor B the doses of the commercial mixture of the herbicides imazapyr + imazapic (0.00+ 0.00; 52.5 + 17.5 and 105 + 35 g ha-1) and factor C at soil depth (0-0.3 m and 0.3-0.6 m). Soybean sowing was performed at the top of the columns and immediately after herbicide mixture was applied. After 120 days the columns were opened, generating two sections, where corn (Zea mays) and the other watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) were sown as a bioindicator of herbicide residue. The fluorescence parameters of chlorophyll a at 15 and 30 days after germination (DAG) and shoot dry matter accumulation at 30 DAG were evaluated. There was greater retention of the herbicide imazapyr + imazapic at a depth of 0-0.3m at 70% CC condition and leaching at a depth of 0.3-0.6m at 130% CC condition, with a reduction in the mass accumulation of watermelon plants. The herbicide has a carryover potential for corn cultivation in soils maintained at 70% CC.

Herbicide-resistant weed management is one of the greatest agricultural challenges in crop production. Thus, the quick identification of resistant-herbicide weeds is extremely important for management. This study aimed to evaluate resistance to PSI-inhibitor herbicides (diquat) of Sumatran Fleabane [(Erigeron sumatrensis (Retz.) E.Walker)] and physiological response to paraquat application. The research was conducted with two E. sumatrensis biotypes, one susceptible and the other with multiple resistance to herbicides from five different modes of action (glyphosate, paraquat, diuron, saflufenacil, and 2,4-D). A dose-response assay was carried out to evaluate herbicide resistance to diquat in paraquat-resistant E. sumatrensis biotype. The enzymatic activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content, and chlorophyll a fluorescence were measured in both biotypes after paraquat (400 g ai ha−1) application. The dose-response assay confirmed resistance of E. sumatrensis to diquat with resistance factor levels of 26-fold and 6-fold for LD50 and GR50 values, respectively, compared with the susceptible biotype. The accumulation of H2O2 occurred faster in the paraquat-susceptible biotype than in the resistant ones. Paraquat treatment caused an increase in SOD and APX activity in the susceptible biotype, but antioxidant enzyme activities were unaffected by paraquat in the resistant one at 5 hours after application (HAA). Chlorophyll a fluorescence increased along the first 4 HAA in both resistant and susceptible biotypes. However, at 24 HAA the resistant biotype showed a decline in fluorescence close to untreated plants while susceptible one died, which can be used to diagnose paraquat resistance at 24 HAA. There is confirmed resistance to diquat in a paraquat-resistant E. sumatrensis biotype. The paraquat-resistant biotype does not induce antioxidative enzymes, as a possible mechanism of resistance to paraquat, but shows a fast recovery of photosynthesis and continuous growth when subjected to paraquat, while the paraquat-susceptible biotype does not survive.

The long residual period of pre-emergent herbicides can interfere with successor crops, causing a phenomenon named carryover. This study evaluated the residual effect of imazapyr + imazapic herbicides on cotton crop grown in succession to soybean. The experiment was conducted between September 2016 and March 2017, in a randomized block design with 4 replicates, where the treatments were four doses of imazapyr + imazapic, 75, 150, 225 and 300 g a.i. ha-1, and the control. The analyzed variables were chlorophyll a fluorescence, shoot height, root length and volume, dry shoot mass and root dry mass. The data were submitted to analysis of variance and Tukey’s test, at p ≤ 0.05. The reduction in photosynthetic performance indexes for treatments of 150, 225 and 300 g a.i. ha-1 at 15 days after emergence (DAE) and of 75 g a.i ha-1 at 60 DAE indicated a photoinhibitory effect of these herbicides on plants. However, shoot height, length, volume and root dry mass were not affected in the treatments tested. Therefore, the persistence of the herbicide in the soil was not enough to characterize a carryover effect in cotton 135 days after application (DAA).

The evolution of glyphosate resistance (GR) in weeds is an increasing problem. Glyphosate has been used intensively on wild poinsettia (Euphorbia heterophylla L.) populations for at least 20 years in GR crops within South America. We investigated the GR mechanisms in a wild poinsettia population from a soybean field in southern Brazil. The GR population required higher glyphosate doses to achieve 50% control (LD 50) and 50% dry mass reduction (MR 50) compared to a glyphosate susceptible (GS) population. The ratio between the LD 50 and MR 50 of GR and GS resulted in resistance factors (RF) of 6.9-fold and 6.1-fold, respectively. Shikimate accumulated 6.7 times more in GS than in GR when leaf-discs were incubated with increasing glyphosate concentrations. No differences were found between GR and GS regarding non-target-site mechanisms. Neither population metabolized glyphosate to significant levels following treatment with 850 g ha-1 glyphosate. Similar levels of 14 C-glyphosate uptake and translocation were observed between the two populations. No differences in EPSPS expression were found between GS and GR. Two target site mutations were found in all EPSPS alleles of homozygous resistant plants: Thr102Ile + Pro106Thr (TIPT-mutation). Heterozygous individuals harbored both alleles, wild-type and TIPT. Half of GR individuals were heterozygous, suggesting that resistance is still evolving in the population. A genotyping assay was developed based on the Pro106Thr mutation, demonstrating high efficiency to identify homozygous, heterozygous or wild-type EPSPS sequences across different plants. This is the first report of glyphosate-resistant wild-poinsettia harboring an EPSPS double mutation (TIPT) in the same plant.