Herbicide Effects on Visible Injury, Leaf Area, and Yield of Glyphosate-Resistant Soybean (Glycine max)1

Abstract

The failure of glyphosate to control all weeds throughout the entire growing season has sometimes prompted growers to use herbicides other than glyphosate on glyphosate-resistant soybean. Field studies were conducted in 1999 and 2000 to investigate potential crop injury by several herbicides in glyphosate-resistant soybean and to determine the relationships between soybean maturity group, planting date, and herbicide treatment on soybean injury, leaf area index (LAI), and yield. Glyphosate-resistant soybean generally recovered from early-season herbicide injury and LAI reductions; however, some treatments reduced yield. Yield reductions were more common in double-crop soybean than in full-season soybean. In full-season soybean, most yield reductions occurred in the early-maturing ‘RT-386’ cultivar. These yield reductions may be attributed to reduced developmental periods associated with early-maturing cultivars and double-crop soybean that often lead to reduced vegetative growth and limited LAI. Reductions in LAI by some herbicide treatments were not necessarily indicative of yield loss. Further yield reductions associated with herbicide applications occurred, although soybean sometimes produced leaf area exceeding the critical LAI level of 3.5 to 4.0, which is the minimum LAI needed for soybean to achieve maximum yield. Therefore, LAI response to herbicide treatments does not always accurately indicate the response of glyphosate-resistant soybean yield to herbicides.Nomenclature: Glyphosate; soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr.Additional index words: Double-crop soybean, full-season soybean, soybean maturity group.Abbreviations: EPSPS, 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EC 2.5.1.19); fb, followed by; LAI, leaf area index; PRE, preemergence; POST, postemergence; WAP, weeks after planting.