-J. 2006. A decade of herbicide-resistant crops in Canada. Can. J. Plant Sci. 86: 1243-1264. This review examines some agronomic, economic, and environmental impacts of herbicide-resistant (HR) canola, soybean, corn, and wheat in Canada after 10 yr of growing HR cultivars. The rapid adoption of HR canola and soybean suggests a net economic benefit to farmers. HR crops often have improved weed management, greater yields or economic returns, and similar or reduced environmental impact compared with their non-HR crop counterparts. There are no marked changes in volunteer weed problems associated with these crops, except in zero-tillage systems when glyphosate is used alone to control canola volunteers. Although gene flow from glyphosate-HR canola to wild populations of bird's rape (Brassica rapa L.) in eastern Canada has been measured, enrichment of hybrid plants in such populations should only occur when and where herbicide selection pressure is applied. Weed shifts as a consequence of HR canola have been documented, but a reduction in weed species diversity has not been demonstrated. However, reliance on HR crops in rotations using the same mode-of-action herbicide and/or multiple in-crop herbicide applications over time can result in intense selection pressure for weed resistance and consequently, greater herbicide use in the future to control HR weed biotypes. History has repeatedly shown that cropping system diversity is the pillar of sustainable agriculture; stewardship of HR crops must adhere to this fundamental principle. L'adoption rapide du canola et du soja RH laisse croire que les agriculteurs y trouvent un net avantage économique. Les cultures RH ont souvent facilité la lutte contre les mauvaises herbes, accru le rendement ou les revenus tout en ayant un impact similaire voire plus faible que les cultures qui ne le sont pas sur l'environnement. On ne remarque pas de changement marqué au niveau de la repousse spontanée des adventices avec ces cultures, sauf dans les systèmes de non-travail du sol où l'on n'utilise que du glyphosate pour combattre la repousse spontanée du canola. Bien qu'on ait mesuré la transmission de gènes du canola résistant au glyphosate aux populations sauvages de navette (Brassica rapa L.) dans l'est du Canada, l'enrichissement de ces populations par des hybrides ne survient que si l'herbicide accentue la pression sélective. La littérature scientifique cite des cas où la population d'adventices change consécutivement à la culture de canola RH, mais on n'a pu démontrer l'appauvrissement de la diversité des espèces. Employer des cultures RH dans les assolements où l'on recourt à des herbicides ayant le même mode d'action ou applique une multitude d'herbicides peut néanmoins déboucher avec le temps sur une intense pression sélective qui favorisera les adventices plus résistantes, ce qui nécessitera éventuellement un usage plus intense d'herbicides pour lutter contre les biotypes RH. L'histoire a montré à maintes reprises que la variété des systèmes agricoles est la pierre angulaire ...

SignificanceWhile evolution has been thought of as playing out over millions of years, adaptation to new environments can occur very rapidly, presenting us with key opportunities to understand evolutionary dynamics. One of the most amazing examples of real-time evolution comes from agriculture, where due to the intense use of a few herbicides, many plant species have evolved herbicide resistance to become aggressive weeds. An important question has been whether herbicide resistance arises only rarely and then spreads quickly, or whether herbicide resistance arises all the time de novo. Our work with glyphosate resistance in US Midwestern and Canadian populations of Amaranthus tuberculatus reveals the answer to be, “it depends,” as we surprisingly find examples for both modes of evolution.

The selection pressure exerted by herbicides has led to the repeated evolution of herbicide resistance in weeds. The evolution of herbicide resistance on contemporary timescales in turn provides an outstanding opportunity to investigate key questions about the genetics of adaptation, in particular, the relative importance of adaptation from new mutations, standing genetic variation, or geographic spread of adaptive alleles through gene flow. Glyphosate-resistant Amaranthus tuberculatus poses one of the most significant threats to crop yields in the midwestern United States (1), with both agricultural populations and herbicide resistance only recently emerging in Canada (2, 3). To understand the evolutionary mechanisms driving the spread of resistance, we sequenced and assembled the A. tuberculatus genome and investigated the origins and population genomics of 163 resequenced glyphosate-resistant and susceptible individuals from Canada and the USA. In Canada, we discovered multiple modes of convergent evolution: in one locality, resistance appears to have evolved through introductions of preadapted US genotypes, while in another, there is evidence for the independent evolution of resistance on genomic backgrounds that are historically nonagricultural. Moreover, resistance on these local, non-agricultural backgrounds appears to have occurred predominantly through the partial sweep of a single haplotype. In contrast, resistant haplotypes arising from the midwestern US show multiple amplification haplotypes segregating both between and within populations. Therefore, while the remarkable species-wide diversity of A. tuberculatus has facilitated geographic parallel adaptation of glyphosate resistance, more recently established agricultural populations are limited to adaptation in a more mutation-limited framework.

Plant competition is thought to be driven by limiting resources. We propose that plant competition is triggered initially by the red to far-red light ratio (R:FR) originating from neighbouring plants, followed by a series of complex physiological processes, which exclude direct resource competition. Field experiments were conducted in 2005 and 2006 in which maize (Zea mays) was grown hydroponically. The effect of R:FR signal being reflected from the leaf surface of Amaranthus retroflexus was isolated by avoiding direct competition for light, water and nutrients. Results showed that the low R:FR reflected from the leaf surface of A. retroflexus did alter the carbon allocation pattern of maize when compared with maize growing free of weeds. Prior to silking, maize grown under low R:FR experienced temporal changes in plant height, persistent changes throughout the sampling period in root and shoot dry weights and rate of leaf appearance, but no changes in leaf area. At silking, low R:FR reduced ear and total plant dry weight. These results support the hypothesis that changes in R:FR acts as an early signal of pending competition by initiating a shade avoidance response. Data from this experiment suggest that once a plant is physiologically triggered into a shade avoidance response, these plants do so at a physiological cost, which may constrain plant development and possibly reduce reproductive fitness.

Volunteer corn in soybean can reduce yields, interfere with harvest, and cause unacceptable levels of contamination by its presence in the harvested soybean. In Ontario, soybean frequently follow corn in rotation. The use of glyphosate-resistant corn and soybean varieties has increased dramatically in Ontario. Field studies were conducted at two locations in southwestern Ontario to determine whether quizalofop-p-ethyl, clethodim, and fenoxaprop-p-ethyl can be tank mixed with glyphosate to provide effective control of volunteer glyphosate-resistant corn in glyphosate-resistant soybean. Soybean plots were overseeded with glyphosate-resistant corn and treatments consisting of glyphosate applied alone and tank mixed with full and reduced rates of each graminicide with and without a recommended surfactant. Tank mixing the graminicides and adjuvants with glyphosate did not affect glyphosate weed control or crop tolerance. Use of a recommended adjuvant significantly improved the effectiveness of the graminicides, particularly when reduced rates were applied. Quizalofop-p-ethyl was the most effective graminicide for controlling glyphosate-resistant volunteer corn, followed by clethodim and fenoxaprop-p-ethyl.

Crop losses from weed interference have a significant effect on net returns for producers. Herein, potential corn yield loss because of weed interference across the primary corn-producing regions of the United States and Canada are documented. Yield-loss estimates were determined from comparative, quantitative observations of corn yields between nontreated and treatments providing greater than 95% weed control in studies conducted from 2007 to 2013. Researchers from each state and province provided data from replicated, small-plot studies from at least 3 and up to 10 individual comparisons per year, which were then averaged within a year, and then averaged over the seven years. The resulting percent yield-loss values were used to determine potential total corn yield loss in t ha−1 and bu acre−1 based on average corn yield for each state or province, as well as corn commodity price for each year as summarized by USDA-NASS (2014) and Statistics Canada (2015). Averaged across the seven years, weed interference in corn in the United States and Canada caused an average of 50% yield loss, which equates to a loss of 148 million tonnes of corn valued at over U.S.$26.7 billion annually.

These encompassing results suggest that resistance to glyphosate in these GR RR A. trifida accessions is not conferred by a target-site resistance mechanism. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Soltani, N., Shropshire, C., Cowan, T. and Sikkema, P. 2003. Tolerance of cranberry beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) to soil applications of s-metolachlor and imazethapyr. Can. J. Plant Sci. 83: 645-648. There is little information on the tolerance of cranberry beans to preplant incorporated (PPI) and preemergence (PRE) applications of s-metolachlor and imazethapyr, either alone or in tank mix combination, for selective weed control in cranberry beans in Ontario. Tolerance of two cranberry bean cultivars, Hooter and SVM Taylor, to PPI and PRE applications of s-metolachlor, imazethapyr and their tank mix combination at the label rate (1×) and twice the label rate (2×) were studied at two Ontario locations (Exeter and Ridgetown) in 2001 and 2002. There were no differences between the two cultivars in their responses to the herbicide treatments. PPI and PRE applications of s-metolachlor alone at the 1× and 2× rate had no effect on visual crop injury and no negative effect on plant height, dry weight and yield compared to the control. The PPI and PRE applications of imazethapyr at the 1× rate did not result in significant visual crop injury, and had no negative effect on bean height and dry weight, but at the 2× rate there was significant visual crop injury, a decrease in height with the PPI application and decreased dry weight with PPI and PRE applications. No negative effect on cranberry bean yield was observed with the application of imazethapyr at either the 1× or 2× rates. The PPI and PRE applications of the tank mix of s-metolachlor plus imazethapyr at the 1× rate did not result in significant visual crop injury or decreases in bean plant height or dry weight. At the 2× rate, there was significant visual crop injury, a decrease in bean plant height with PPI and PRE applications and decreased dry weight with the PPI application. The tank mix of s-metolachlor plus imazethapyr at the 1× rate had no effect on yield, but the PPI application at the 2× rate caused a decrease in yield at 1 of the 4 site-years. Les deux cultivars ont réagi de la même manière aux traitements. L'usage PPI et PRE du s-méto-lachlor aux deux taux d'application n'entraîne pas de dommages visibles à la culture et n'a aucune incidence négative sur la hauteur des plants, le poids sec ni le rendement, comparativement aux témoins. L'usage PPI et PRE d'imazéthapyr au taux 1× n'entraîne pas non plus de dommages visibles importants à la culture et n'a pas d'incidence négative sur la hauteur des plants ni sur le poids sec, mais au double du taux normal, on note d'importants dommages à la culture, les plants sont plus petits avec le traitement PPI et il y a réduction du poids sec avec les traitements PPI et PRE. Le rendement du haricot canneberge n'est affecté par l'imazéthapyr à aucun des deux taux d'application. L'usage PPI et PRE du mélange n'entraîne pas de dommages visibles importants ni de forte diminution de la hauteur des plants et du poids sec au taux d'application normal, mais au double de ce taux, on note des dommages visibles sensibles, une rédu...