Use of glyphosate in controlling Orobanche aegyptiaca (broomrape), a parasitic weed on dicotyledonous crops, was examined by determining glyphosate dose response and 14C-labeled glyphosate absorption, translocation, and metabolism patterns in Vicia sativa (common vetch) that is tolerant of low levels of glyphosate and Brassica napus (oilseed rape) that has been genetically engineered to be glyphosate resistant. Glyphosate provided excellent suppression of O. aegyptiaca growth in both V. sativa and B. napus. Absorption and translocation of 14C-glyphosate was similar between parasitized and nonparasitized V. sativa plants. 14C-Glyphosate was metabolized up to 32% in V. sativa, which could account for some of the tolerance of V. sativa to glyphosate. Approximately 27% of translocated 14C-glyphosate accumulated in O. aegyptiaca attachments on V. sativa. Absorption and translocation patterns of 14C-glyphosate were similar between parasitized and nonparasitized B. napus plants. Nearly one-third (31%) of the translocated radioactivity was found in O. aegyptiaca attachments on B. napus. No metabolism of 14C-glyphosate was detected in B. napus.

When glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine] was fed through the transpiration stream of excised bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L. ‘Red Kidney’) shoots, it was readily absorbed and transported to the leaves where it inhibited transpiration. Maximum inhibition (40 to 50%) resulted from tissue concentrations of 50 to 3000 nmoles glyphosate/g fresh weight, while transpiration was significantly inhibited (20%) by as little as 15 nmoles/g fresh weight. A combination of 5 X 10-4M tyrosine (Tyr) and 5 x 10-4M phenylalanine (Phe) supplied continuously through the transpiration stream prevented the inhibition of transpiration by glyphosate during the course of 8-h experiments. Tyrosine (10-3M) alone delayed the transpiration response to glyphosate by 2 to 3 h but 10-3M Phe alone did not affect the inhibition by glyphosate. Levels of endogenous Tyr and Phe were about 50% lower in glyphosate-treated leaves than in the controls 6 h after treatment.

Interaction of glyphosate and 2,4-DB was evaluated in greenhouse and laboratory studies with respect to control of four species of annual morningglory. The greenhouse study included smallflower, pitted, palmleaf, and ivyleaf morningglory at three growth stages: seedling, juvenile, and vining. A series of glyphosate rates (0.28 to 1.26 kg ae/ha) and 2,4-DB (0.022 and 0.045 kg ae/ha) were applied alone, and in all possible two-way tank mixtures. Morningglory response to both glyphosate and 2,4-DB applied alone was species- and growth stage-dependent. All combinations were either additive or synergistic for control of pitted, palmleaf, and ivyleaf morningglory. Response of smallflower morningglory ranged from antagonistic to synergistic. Absorption and translocation of 14C-2,4-DB was independent of the addition of glyphosate in all four species. By contrast, absorption of foliar-applied 14C-glyphosate and translocation of 14C from treated leaves to other plant parts were enhanced by the addition of 2,4-DB in all species except palmleaf morningglory. In palmleaf morningglory, 14C-glyphosate absorption and translocation were independent of the addition of 2,4-DB. Absorption and translocation data were in agreement with greenhouse studies.

Experiments were conducted to evaluate sharppod morningglory control with postemergence herbicides used in cotton and to determine the influence of diuron on glyphosate efficacy. Glyphosate plus diuron was one of the most efficacious herbicide treatments in the field experiment, providing up to 78% control of 10- to 20-cm stem length sharppod morningglory. In growth-chamber experiments, mixtures of either 420 or 840 g ai/ha diuron plus glyphosate potassium salt at 840 g ae/ha were needed to significantly reduce sharppod morningglory biomass. Compared to published results with other Ipomoea spp. and field bindweed, sharppod morningglory absorbed more and translocated less glyphosate after 72 h. Retention of glyphosate in treated leaves increased when the glyphosate was mixed with 420 g/ha diuron. Mixture with 420 or 840 g/ha diuron reduced the concentration of glyphosate in roots; however, only 2% of glyphosate alone was translocated to the roots. These results indicate that the combination of glyphosate with diuron improves aboveground sharppod morningglory desiccation, but limits glyphosate translocation.

Greenhouse and laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate mechanisms of glyphosate resistance in horseweed populations from Mississippi, Arkansas, Delaware, and Tennessee. A nondestructive leaf-dip bioassay was developed to confirm resistance and susceptibility in individual test plants. A single leaf was excised from each plant, and the petiole and bottom one-fourth of leaf was dipped in a 600 mg ae L−1 glyphosate solution for 2 d followed by visually estimating the injury on a scale of 0 to 10. Plants were classified as resistant (R) if the score was 2 to 3 and susceptible (S) if the score was 5 to 6. 14C-glyphosate solution was applied on the adaxial surface of a fully expanded leaf of the second whorl of four-whorl rosette plants. Plants were harvested 48 h after treatment and radioactivity was determined in treated leaf, other leaves, crown, and roots. Absorption of 14C-glyphosate was similar (47 to 54%) between R and S plants from within and among the four states, suggesting absorption is not involved in glyphosate resistance. The amount of radioactivity translocated from the treated leaf was reduced in R plants compared with S plants. The reduction in translocation of 14C-glyphosate ranged from 28% in Mississippi-R biotype to 48% in Delaware-R biotype compared with their respective S biotypes. Epicuticular wax mass ranged from 6 to 80 μg cm−2 among horseweed biotypes, with no differences between R and S biotypes within each state. Treating two leaves with glyphosate solution at the field use rate (0.84 kg ae ha−1) killed S plants but not R plants (38 to 58% control) regardless of state origin. These results suggest that a simple bioassay can be used to screen biotypes for suspected resistance and that reduced translocation of glyphosate plays a major role in glyphosate resistance in R biotypes of horseweed.