Biotypes of field bindweed that vary in sensitivity to glyphosate were studied to determine the physiological or biochemical bases for these differences. Studies con ducted using whole plants and in vitro cultured shoots identified several potentially important differences between the most tolerant (biotype 4) and most susceptible (biotype 1) biotypes. Biotype 4 plants had greater 3-deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonate-7-phosphate synthase (DAHPS) activity and higher concentrations of phenolic compounds, indicating greater shikimate pathway activity than biotype 1. This may reflect a higher growth ability of biotype 4, as observed in shoot cultures. 5-Enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) activity in whole plants increased in all parts of biotype 4 by 7 d after a glyphosate treatment of 1.1 kg ae ha−1, whereas activities in biotype 1 plants did not increase at any time. However, this may not be the only mechanism of glyphosate tolerance because EPSPS activity in cultured shoots of both biotypes increased equally in response to glyphosate, even though biotype 4 shoots were able to survive and grow on a glyphosate-containing medium that inhibited growth of biotype 1 shoots. We propose that multiple mechanisms operating at a cellular/metabolic level combine to enable biotype 4 to tolerate higher glyphosate rates than biotype 1.

Imazethapyr-resistant biotypes of Palmer amaranth and common waterhemp were studied to determine the magnitude of resistance and cross-resistance to three acetolactate synthase (ALS)-inhibiting herbicides. Resistant biotypes of Palmer amaranth and common waterhemp demonstrated > 2,800- and > 130-fold resistance to phytotoxicity of imazethapyr compared to susceptible biotypes, respectively. Concentrations of imazethapyr required for 50% in vivo inhibition of ALS activity were at least > 13,100 and > 1,900 times greater for resistant biotypes of Palmer amaranth and common waterhemp, respectively, compared to susceptible plants. Resistant biotypes of both species demonstrated cross-resistance to the sulfonylurea herbicides thifensulfuron and chlorimuron at the whole plant and enzyme levels, indicating that a less sensitive ALS enzyme confers this resistance to these plants.

Our objective was to determine if the chlorsulfuron-induced reduction in assimilate export from leaves can be attributed to a shortage of carbohydrates. Treated canola leaves showed no reduction in carbon fixation or carbohydrate production during the first 24 h, but they exuded only 17 to 27% of the amount of sucrose exuded by corresponding control leaves. Exposure of the leaves to higher concentrations of CO2 (500 vs. 350 μl L−1) resulted in greater net carbon exchange and higher starch content, but failed to overcome the reduction in sucrose export, presumably because of increased carbon allocation to starch.

Herbicide absorption and translocation patterns were determined following a wet blade method of application to dogfennel stems. Treatment consisted of severing stems with a pruning shear blade containing 5 μl of [14C]-triclopyr or [14C]-clopyralid solution. More than 73 or 82% of applied [14C]-triclopyr or [14C]-clopyralid was absorbed immediately, and uptake increased to more than 90%, 60 min after treatment. Both radiolabeled compounds appeared in the roots as soon as 12 h after treatment. By 48 h, 5 to 7% of the [14C] label was present in the roots, and 7 to 10% was exuded from the roots.

Greenhouse and field experiments were conducted to evaluate the potential for antagonistic or synergistic interactions from tank mixtures of glyphosate plus a selective herbicide applied postemergence. In the greenhouse, glyphosate at 420 g ae ha−1 plus 28% liquid urea-ammonium nitrate (28% UAN) provided at least 89% control of common lambsquarters and common ragweed. Glyphosate at 1,680 g ha−1 plus 28% UAN provided less than 81% control of velvetleaf and less than 75% control of ivyleaf morningglory. Tank mixing bentazon at 1,120 g ai ha−1 with glyphosate at 420 g ha−1 synergistically increased control of velvetleaf. Tank mixtures of glyphosate plus a selective herbicide were predominately additive in control of common lambsquarters, common ragweed, and velvetleaf. Several tank mix combinations of chlorimuron or imazethapyr plus glyphosate plus 28% UAN were antagonistic in control of ivyleaf morningglory. In the field, glyphosate at 840 g ha−1 plus 28% UAN provided at least 88% control of common lambsquarters and velvetleaf in 1994. However, glyphosate at 840 g ha−1 plus 28% UAN provided only 60% control of velvetleaf in 1995. Tank-mixing bentazon or CGA-248757 with glyphosate at 420 g ha−1 increased velvetleaf and common lambsquarters control in 1995. In general, adding chlorimuron, imazethapyr, or thifensulfuron to glyphosate plus 28% UAN did not increase control of common lambsquarters or velvetleaf. Tank mixing imazethapyr with glyphosate plus 28% UAN antagonized velvetleaf control in 1994 and in 1995. The tank mixture of thifensulfuron at 2 g ha−1 plus glyphosate at 420 g ha−1 plus 28% UAN increased soybean injury in the field in 1994. However, tank mixing chlorimuron, imazethapyr, or thifensulfuron with glyphosate plus 28% UAN did not increase soybean injury in the greenhouse or in the field in 1995.

Growth chamber experiments were conducted to determine the effects of soil temperature on the response of corn to imazaquin soil residues. In a silt loam soil, 24/30 C (night/day) or 18/24 C soil temperatures caused greater inhibition of shoot growth than 12/18 C soil temperature. However, in a sandy loam soil, inhibition of corn shoot growth was maximal at 18/24 C, and there was no difference in shoot-growth inhibition between the lowest and highest temperatures. Higher soil temperatures caused greater root-growth inhibition in the sandy loam soil but not in silt loam soil. Soil temperature did not affect 14C-imazaquin uptake from either soil. Higher soil temperatures increased the translocation of imazaquin from root to shoot tissue in both soils. In the sandy loam soil, imazaquin metabolism in root tissue decreased as soil temperature increased, with twice as much parent herbicide recovered from roots of plants grown under the highest compared with the lowest temperature treatments. Soil temperature had no effect on imazaquin metabolism in shoot tissue. Longer-term experiments (22 d) were conducted with the sandy loam soil to determine the effect of changes in air temperature on corn response to imazaquin soil residues. Plants exposed to 24/30 C for 7 or 14 d of the final 14-d growing period showed greater inhibition of shoot growth compared with plants maintained at 12/18 C. Uptake and translocation of 14C-imazaquin to shoots was greater in plants maintained at 24/30 C throughout the final 14-d period than in plants maintained at 12/18 C. Plants grown for 7 d at 24/30 C during the final 14-d period either preceding or following 7 d growth at 12/18 C showed increased translocation of imazaquin to shoots but no difference in imazaquin uptake compared with plants maintained at 12/18 C. Neither air nor soil temperature treatments had any effect on imazaquin concentration in soil water.

The species composition and density of weed seed in the soil vary greatly and are closely linked to the cropping history of the land. Altering tillage practices changes weed seed depth in the soil, which plays a role in weed species shifts and affects efficacy of control practices. Crop rotation and weed control practices also affect the weed seedbank. Information on the influence of cropping practices on the weed seedbank should be a useful tool for integrated weed management. Decision aid models use information on the weed seedbank to estimate weed populations, crop yield loss, and recommend weed control tactics. Understanding the light requirements of weed seed may provide new approaches to weed management. Improving and applying our understanding of weed seedbank dynamics is essential to developing improved weed management systems. The principles of plant ecology must be integrated with the science of weed management to develop strategies that take advantage of basic plant responses in weed management systems for agronomic crops.

The purpose of this study was to determine cross-resistance patterns among wild oat lines resistant to acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase) inhibitors and to determine which, if any, cross-resistant type was more common than another. Discriminatory concentrations of two aryloxyphenoxy-propionates (APP) and three cyclohexanediones (CHD) were determined using a petri-dish bioassay. These concentrations were then applied to 82 resistant wild oat lines identified in previous studies. In addition, two resistant standards (UM1 and UM33) and a susceptible standard (UM5) were included in the experiments. Coleoptile lengths expressed as percentages of untreated controls were used to assess the level of resistance to each herbicide. Large variations were observed among wild oat lines and herbicides. However, cluster analysis summarized the relationship between the five herbicides (variables) and the wild oat lines into three main cross-resistance types. Type A included wild oat lines with high resistance to APP herbicides and no or low resistance to CHD herbicides. Types B and C included those with low to moderate resistant and high levels of resistance to all five herbicides, respectively. Type C was the most common cross-resistance type. Relationships among herbicides were determined using pairwise correlation and principal component analysis (PCA). All correlations were high between APP herbicides and between CHD herbicides but not between APP and CHD herbicides. The first two axes of the PCA accounted for 88.4% of the total variance, with the first axis correlated to the CHD herbicides and the second axis correlated to the APP herbicides. In the PCA, wild oat lines were segregated into the three types identified in the cluster analysis. Although CHD and APP herbicides bind at the same region on the ACCase, resistant wild oat lines respond differently to them.

The benzoylcyclohexane-1,3-diones, the triketones, are potent bleaching herbicides whose structure-activity relationships and physical properties are substantially different from classical bleaching herbicides, which affect phytoene desaturase. The first clue to their unique mechanism of action was the discovery that rats treated with a triketone were found to be tyrosinemic. Additionally, examination of the rat urine revealed the accumulation of p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate (HPP) and p-hydroxyphenyllactate. These results suggested that this chemically induced tyrosinemia was the result of the inhibition of p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD, EC 1.13.11.27), and this suggestion was confirmed when a triketone was shown to be a potent inhibitor of rat liver HPPD. In plants, HPPD is a component of the biosynthetic pathway to plastoquinone (PQ), which in turn is a key cofactor of phytoene desaturase. The expectation that triketone-treated plants should accumulate tyrosine while having reduced PQ levels was dramatically demonstrated in the meristematic tissue of ivyleaf morningglory. Plant HPPD, like the mammalian enzyme, was inhibited in vitro by triketones. These biochemical effects provide evidence that the triketone herbicidal mechanism of action is HPPD inhibition leading to a deficiency of PQ, a key cofactor for carotenoid biosynthesis. Other chemical classes of bleaching herbicides were also examined for their ability to elevate tyrosine and deplete PQ as a definitive means of establishing their mode of action and for delineating the structural and physical chemical requirements for an HPPD herbicide. Evidence is provided to support the claim that a 2-benzoylethen-1-ol substructure is the minimum substructure required for a potent HPPD inhibitor.

To determine if cell damage could account for chlorsulfuron inhibition of assimilate transport, the ultrastructure of companion cells and surrounding mesophyll cells was examined following chlorsulfuron treatment. Six hours after treatment of canola leaves, thylakoids in companion cells were swollen and chloroplast structures in mesophyll cells were disorganized. Three days after treatment, the treated leaves contained more starch granules in companion cells than corresponding control leaves, presumably as a result of reduced assimilate export. We conclude that the inhibition of assimilate export in chlorsulfuron-treated canola leaves is associated, at least in part, with the ultrastructural changes described, particularly those in companion cells.

Orobanche aegyptiaca is a chlorophyll-lacking holoparasite that subsists on the roots of plants, inflicting severe damage to legumes and other crops in the Mediterranean region. Common vetch and purple vetch are important legume forage crops in Israel and the Middle East. Experiments in pots containing soil inoculated with O. aegyptiaca seeds have shown that common vetch genotypes ‘Yovel’ and ‘473-A’ are susceptible to the parasite, whereas purple vetch genotypes ‘Popany’ and ‘Sadot’ are resistant. When grown in association with O. aegyptiaca in polyethene bags, purple vetch genotypes stimulated a significantly higher rate of parasite seed germination than that stimulated by common vetch genotypes. However, the number of successful Orobanche attachments developed on the host root was lower on resistant genotypes compared to susceptible ones. This differential response between purple and common vetch genotypes was evident at diverse temperature regimes (17/12, 22/17, and 27/22 C day/night). Microscopic observations revealed that resistant genotypes rapidly developed necrotic lesions surrounding the contact point of the parasite radicle (germ tube) with the host root, hence preventing further development of the parasite. In the sensitive genotypes, attachments developed without necrotic lesions. These data may indicate involvement of host defense mechanisms induced by the parasite attachment.

A greenhouse study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of adjuvants on postemergence large crabgrass control with dithiopyr. Using barriers to isolate foliage or soil, the primary site of dithiopyr uptake was found to be via foliage. Laboratory and greenhouse studies elucidated the factors involved in enhancement of crabgrass control by dithiopyr with nine superior adjuvants. Two adjuvants increased dithiopyr absorption by 3.7 to 4.3% over the herbicide alone. However, none of the adjuvants increased dithiopyr translocation out of the treated leaf. Treatment of a single large crabgrass leaf indicated that enhancement of dithiopyr activity by adjuvants involved an effect on translocation, on spray retention, and on the external movement of the spray solution to the apical meristem, with the relative importance of any 1 factor depending on the particular adjuvant used. Because of the large losses of dithiopyr during absorption/translocation studies, a separate volatilization experiment determined that 70% of the applied dithiopyr volatilized within 24 h at 24 C. Dithiopyr absorption decreased and volatilization increased with each 10 C increase in temperature. Nonrecoverable dithiopyr ranged from 46 to 55% at 5 C to 92 to 95% at 35 C. Volatility losses of this magnitude may mitigate adjuvant enhancement of postemergence grass activity of dithiopyr.