A new study published in the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences takes some of the mystery out of how aggressive weeds like Palmer amaranth and common waterhemp developed resistance to glyphosate herbicides so quickly. Researchers from Kansas State University have discovered that these pigweeds develop extra-chromosomal circular DNA (eccDNA), genetic material that […]
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In a collaborative research project, a team of scientists have conducted a nationwide assessment of factors contributing to an epidemic of herbicide-resistant weeds in the United Kingdom (UK). Their paper was published in Nature: Evolution and Ecology this week. It paints a crystal-clear picture of rapidly rising weed resistance – and a clear correlation with […]
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The Trump Administration started the process of re-negotiating NAFTA this week. One wonders if the rapidly spreading populations of U.S. born and bred glyphosate-resistant waterhemp in Ontario will be on the agenda. The first Canadian glyphosate-resistant (GR) waterhemp was discovered in 2014 in Lambton County, Ontario. In 2015, GR waterhemp was confirmed in 40 fields […]
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Andrew Kniss is a professor at the University Wyoming whose research is partially funded by the pesticide and biotech industry. My research over the last ~15 years has been substantially funded by organic food companies, and foundations that hope to support bio-based innovation in agriculture that leads to healthier food and a lighter environmental footprint. (For […]
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Farm magazines and rural, Midwestern airwaves are full of stories and advertising for the latest herbicide-based solutions for corn and soybean fields infested with multiple, herbicide-tolerant weeds. Perhaps the most challenging is glyphosate-resistant waterhemp. In a March 29, 2017 Farm Industry News story by Willie Vogt entitled “Taking on weed resistance”, weed management experts describe […]
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Farmers are bracing for a rough season contending with the spread of glyphosate-resistant weeds throughout the Heartland. The collapsing efficacy of genetically engineered (GE), herbicide-resistant (HR) technology coincides with a serious downturn in corn, soybean, and cotton prices. Rising costs for GE-HR seed, the need to markedly intensify herbicide use (driving production costs higher), and […]
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