Glyphosate Efficacy on Velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti) is Affected by Stress

Abstract

Greenhouse and growth chamber studies were conducted to determine the effect of drought, flooding, and cold stress on the efficacy of glyphosate for velvetleaf control, and the interaction between these stresses and adjuvant and posttreatment temperature. Glyphosate activity on velvetleaf decreased when plants were stressed with drought ≥ flooding > cold. Leaf blades of environmentally stressed velvetleaf angled downward, which increased tolerance to glyphosate but was not as great a cause of tolerance as the stress effects. Glyphosate applied to 6- and 12-leaf velvetleaf was two and eight times more phytotoxic on nonstressed compared with drought-stressed plants, respectively. Glyphosate was most effective on nonstressed plants, followed by plants recovering from stress, and least effective on plants still under stress. None of the adjuvants completely overcame the adverse affects of stress on glyphosate efficacy; use of a nonionic surfactant and ammonium sulfate resulted in a 9–13 percentage point improvement in control of stressed plants compared with glyphosate applied without an adjuvant. Low temperatures (5 or 12 C) maintained for 48 h after herbicide treatment enhanced glyphosate phytotoxicity to stressed and nonstressed velvetleaf. Glyphosate at a low rate stressed velvetleaf, which made them more tolerant to subsequent glyphosate application compared with velvetleaf not pretreated with glyphosate.