Herbicide resistance in China: a quantitative review

Abstract

The widespread, rapid evolution of herbicide-resistant weeds is a serious and escalating agronomic problem worldwide. During China’s economic boom, the country became one of the most important herbicide producers and consumers in the world, and herbicide resistance has dramatically increased in the past decade and has become a serious threat to agriculture. Here, following an evidence-based PRISMA (preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses) approach, we carried out a systematic review to quantitatively assess herbicide resistance in China. Multiple weed species, including 26, 18, 11, 9, 5, 5, 4, and 3 species in rice (Oryza sativa L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], corn (Zea mays L.), canola (Brassica napus L.), cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)., orchards, and peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) fields, respectively, have developed herbicide resistance. Acetolactate synthase inhibitors, acetyl-CoA carboxylase inhibitors, and synthetic auxin herbicides are the most resistance-prone herbicides and are the most frequently used mechanisms of action, followed by 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase inhibitors and protoporphyrinogen oxidase inhibitors. The lack of alternative herbicides to manage weeds that exhibit cross-resistance or multiple resistance (or both) is an emerging issue and poses one of the greatest threats challenging the crop production and food safety both in China and globally.

Managing herbicide resistance in China

“…Enhanced activity of GST and/or P450 alongside target-site gene mutations often contribute to herbicide resistance, as in M. aquaticum resistance to tribenuron-methyl (Liu et al 2015b). A recent review on herbicide resistance in China indicated that acetolactate synthase (ALS) inhibitors, acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase) inhibitors, synthetic auxin herbicides, 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3phosphate synthase (EPSPS) inhibitors, protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PPO) (also known as protoporphyrinogen IX oxidase) inhibitors, photosystem I (PSI) electron diverters, photosystem II (PSII) inhibitors, and long-chain fatty-acid (LCFA) inhibitors are the herbicide groups most prone to developing resistance, accounting for 97% of developed resistance in China (Liu et al 2019). To manage HR weeds in farmland, it is very important to understand the mechanisms of these eight herbicide groups.…”

“…There have been relatively few research advances involving molecular resistance mechanisms of weeds to synthetic auxins, because elucidating the mechanisms of resistance to this class of herbicides is particularly difficult (Powles and Yu 2010). In China, 12 weed species have developed resistance to synthetic auxins such as quinclorac, MCPA (4-chloro-2-ethyphenoxyacetate), 2,4-D butylate, and fluroxypyr (Liu et al 2019). Quinclorac is widely used for weed control during rice production in China and is the most resistance-prone synthetic auxin herbicide used.…”

“…There were only 15 resistance cases documented before 2009, but 45 were recorded by 2019 ( Figure 1). A total of 27 weed species (13 dicots and 14 monocots) have evolved resistance to 13 different herbicide modes of action (MOAs) in 10 major crops in China (Liu et al 2019). These resistant weeds pose a serious threat to chemical control in China and have therefore caught Chinese researchers' attention.…”

“…Many studies seek to monitor levels of resistance or decipher the causes of resistance. However, the general understanding of herbicide resistance in China is still in its early stages (Liu et al 2019). Previously, we carried out a systematic review to quantitatively assess herbicide-resistance issues in China (Liu et al 2019).…”

“…However, the general understanding of herbicide resistance in China is still in its early stages (Liu et al 2019). Previously, we carried out a systematic review to quantitatively assess herbicide-resistance issues in China (Liu et al 2019). In this review, however, we focus on mechanistic studies and management practices to document the (1) history of herbicide application in China; (2) resistance mechanisms of major herbicide groups; and (3) herbicide-resistance management strategies currently practiced in China.…”