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OCR for page 15
Addressing the Pressing Problem of Herbicide Resistance
Harold Coble
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service
This presentation is a discussion of how to address the problem of herbicide
resistance, not from a technical perspective, but from a human perspective. Herbicide-
resistant weeds are a game changer for agriculture just as drug-resistant microbes have
been a game changer for the health care industry. Weed control today is chemically based.
The reason nearly 100 percent of row crops are treated with herbicides is because nothing
else comes close to the effectiveness and efficiency of herbicides in killing weeds over a
wide area. Good weed management, on the other hand, involves the integration of many
practices within the strategic approaches of prevention, avoidance, monitoring, and
suppression. From the management perspective, one must assume that all fields have
resistance present. That resistance may not have manifested itself yet in an actual plant and
may not have been selected for yet, but because genes have many ways of moving around,
proper management dictates that assumption. Weed resistance is an area-wide issue
because of the propensity of weed resistance genes to move with ease from field to field. In
the past, the next new chemical in the pipeline was used to solve resistance problems--no
more. New mechanisms of action are not forthcoming in the near future, and a better job of
integration must occur to preserve those valuable control tactics presently available.
Successful systems in the future will be more management-intensive and involve more
diversity of tactics. A mindset change may be necessary to fully incorporate these new,
successful systems.
15
OCR for page 16
16 NATIONAL SUMMIT ON STRATEGIES TO MANAGE HERBICIDE-RESISTANT WEEDS
KEY POINTS
Managing resistance requires a new mindset!
Herbicide-resistant weeds are a game changer for agriculture just as drug-
resistant microbes have been a game changer for the health care industry.
o They have occurred with multiple classes of chemistry.
o They have evolved because of complacent management.
o Managers need to be more observant and disciplined to avoid this
problem.
The technology is not to blame--problem is based on how the technology was
used.
All actors in the system (university, industry, agency, dealers, farmers) are to
blame for the problem.
o They must work together to find and implement solutions; only then can
preparation meet opportunity.
Kochia (Kochia scoparia), courtesy of WildBoar
(http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fille:Kochia_scoparia_02.jpg).
