Herbicide resistance in weeds and its management strategies

Abstract

Weeds are much older than crop cultivation for food, fuel, fibre and shelter. Weed management is a big task for production of various crops. At present time, herbicides are most popular and effective means for weed management due to their higher efficacy and time saving nature. But their continuous and indiscriminate use has created several problems like weed flora shift, herbicide resistance and environmental hazards. Out of these, herbicide resistance is most serious problem of present time. Currently there are 480 cases of herbicide resistance in 252 plant species. There are various types of herbicide resistance such as cross resistance, multiple resistance, partial resistance, full resistance etc. Herbicide resistance has become a major issue at world level, and number of resistant biotypes is increasing continuously at very rapid rate. Therefore, some alternate management practices such as cultural, mechanical and biological methods should be integrated in weed management program to combat this problem. A proper understanding of development and mechanism of resistance (altered target sites, rapid metabolism and sequestration) would help us for its management. With the help of various physiological and biochemical studies, some resistant screening techniques should be developed for yielding quick results. This paper provides information on status of herbicide resistance, development of resistance, factors affecting development of herbicide resistance in weeds, resistance mechanisms and its management.