Glyphosate Translocation Research Articles

Increasing the Effectiveness of Reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) Control in Wet Meadow Restorations

Abstract Restoration practices are often based on trial and error or anecdotal information because data from controlled experiments are not available. In wet meadow restorations of the upper Midwest United States, Reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) is controlled with spring burning and spring glyphosate herbicide applications, but the relative effectiveness of either treatment with respect to P. arundinacea growth and life history has not been assessed. We designed a multiyear field experiment to evaluate effects of burning and herbicide application timings on P. arundinacea populations. Burning did not reduce P. arundinacea biomass but reduced the P. arundinacea seed bank, potentially limiting recolonization of P. arundinacea. Glyphosate applications in late August and late September were more effective than in mid‐May (due to enhanced glyphosate translocation to rhizomes), such that two mid‐May applications reduced P. arundinacea biomass to a level equivalent to that achieved by one late‐season application. Phalaris. arundinacea recolonized rapidly from the seed bank and, in plots that received suboptimally timed (mid‐May) herbicide, from rhizomes. Establishment of native species was very low, likely due to competition with recolonizing P. arundinacea. Unplanted species (from the seed bank and refugial populations) accounted for the majority of non‐P. arundinacea biomass. Recolonization of other species was strongly limited by a threshold level of P. arundinacea biomass. Adequate site preparation (over multiple growing seasons) and aftercare (selective removal of P. arundinacea) will be the key to facilitating subsequent wet meadow vegetation establishment. This research provides an example of the importance of experimental evidence as the basis to improve the efficiency of restoration practices.

Glyphosate, paraquat and ACCase multiple herbicide resistance evolved in a Lolium rigidum biotype

Glyphosate is the world's most widely used herbicide. A potential substitute for glyphosate in some use patterns is the herbicide paraquat. Following many years of successful use, neither glyphosate nor paraquat could control a biotype of the widespread annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum), and here the world's first case of multiple resistance to glyphosate and paraquat is confirmed. Dose-response experiments established that the glyphosate rate causing 50% mortality (LD(50)) for the resistant (R) biotype is 14 times greater than for the susceptible (S) biotype. Similarly, the paraquat LD(50 )for the R biotype is 32 times greater than for the S biotype. Thus, based on the LD(50 )R/S ratio, this R biotype of L. rigidum is 14-fold resistant to glyphosate and 32-fold resistant to paraquat. This R biotype also has evolved resistance to the acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase (ACCase) inhibiting herbicides. The mechanism of paraquat resistance in this biotype was determined as restricted paraquat translocation. Resistance to ACCase-inhibiting herbicides was determined as due to an insensitive ACCase. Two mechanisms endowing glyphosate resistance were established: firstly, a point mutation in the 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) gene, resulting in an amino acid substitution of proline to alanine at position 106; secondly, reduced glyphosate translocation was found in this R biotype, indicating a co-occurrence of two distinct glyphosate resistance mechanisms within the R population. In total, this R biotype displays at least four co-existing resistance mechanisms, endowing multiple resistance to glyphosate, paraquat and ACCase herbicides. This alarming case in the history of herbicide resistance evolution represents a serious challenge for the sustainable use of the precious agrochemical resources such as glyphosate and paraquat.

Translocação do glyphosate em biótipos de azevém (Lolium multiflorum)

Foram avaliadas neste trabalho a absorção foliar e a translocação do glyphosate por biótipos de azevém (Lolium multiflorum) sensíveis e resistentes a esse herbicida. Para isso, aplicou-se 14C-glyphosate utilizando-se uma microsseringa de precisão, adicionando-se 10 µL da calda sobre a face adaxial da primeira folha com lígula totalmente visível, quando as plantas de azevém se apresentavam com três perfilhos. A quantidade de glyphosate absorvido e translocado foi avaliada em intervalos de tempo (2, 4, 8, 16, 32 e 64 horas após a aplicação), por meio da medição da radiação emitida pelo 14C-glyphosate, em espectrômetro de cintilação líquida. Foram analisadas a parte aérea e as raízes, bem como a folha onde foi feita a aplicação e a solução de lavagem desta folha. A velocidade de absorção do glyphosate foi semelhante em ambos os biótipos de azevém, observando-se mais de 50% de absorção desse herbicida nas primeiras oito horas após a aplicação. Maior retenção de glyphosate foi observada na folha tratada do biótipo resistente: 81,64% do total de glyphosate absorvido até as 64 horas. No biótipo sensível esse valor foi de 55% no mesmo período. No restante da parte aérea e nas raízes, a maior quantidade do glyphosate absorvido foi encontrada no biótipo sensível, mostrando sua maior capacidade de translocação. Após 64 horas da aplicação do glyphosate, apenas 6%, em média, do glyphosate se encontrava nas plantas, indicando que a maior parte do produto pode ter sido exsudada. Conclui-se que a sensibilidade do azevém ao glyphosate pode ser atribuída à maior capacidade de translocação desse herbicida pelo biótipo sensível.

Physiological Mechanisms of Glyphosate Resistance

Glyphosate, a nonselective herbicide and also the world's most widely used herbicide, inhibits 5-enol-pyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS), an enzyme in the aromatic amino acid biosynthetic pathway. Because of its broad-spectrum and potent weed control and favorable environmental characteristics, attempts to engineer glyphosate resistance have been intensive in the past few decades. The use of at least three different mechanisms has conferred glyphosate resistance in normally sensitive crop species. Early work focused on progressive adaptation of cultured plant cells to stepwise increases in glyphosate concentrations. The resulting cells were resistant to glyphosate because of EPSPS overexpression, EPSPS gene amplification, or increased enzyme stability. Further work aimed to achieve resistance by transforming plants with glyphosate metabolism genes. An enzyme from a soil microorganism, glyphosate oxidoreductase (GOX), cleaves the nitrogen– carbon bond in glyphosate yielding aminomethylphosphonic acid. Another metabolism gene, glyphosateN-acetyl transferase (gat), acetylates and deactivates glyphosate. A third mechanism, and the one found in all currently commercial glyphosate-resistant crops, is the insertion of a glyphosate-resistant form of the EPSPS enzyme. Several researchers have used site-directed mutagenesis or amino acid substitutions of EPSPS. However, the most glyphosate-resistant EPSPS enzyme to date has been isolated fromAgrobacteriumspp. strain CP4 and gives high levels of resistance in planta. Weeds resistant to glyphosate have offered further physiological mechanisms for glyphosate resistance. Resistant field bindweed had higher levels of 3-deoxy-d-arbino-heptulosonate 7-phosphate synthase, the first enzyme in the shikimate pathway, suggesting that increased carbon flow through the shikimate pathway can provide glyphosate resistance. Resistant goosegrass has reduced translocation of glyphosate out of the treated area. Although glyphosate resistance has been achieved by numerous mechanisms, currently the only independent physiological mechanism to give adequate and stable resistance to glyphosate for commercialization of glyphosate-resistant crops has been glyphosate-resistant forms of EPSPS.

Evolved Glyphosate Resistance in Plants: Biochemical and Genetic Basis of Resistance

Resistance to the herbicide glyphosate is currently known in at least eight weed species from many countries. Some populations of goosegrass from Malaysia, rigid ryegrass from Australia, and Italian ryegrass from Chile exhibit target site–based resistance to glyphosate through changes at amino acid 106 of the 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) gene. Mutations change amino acid 106 from proline to either serine or threonine, conferring an EPSPS weakly resistant to glyphosate. The moderate level of resistance is sufficient for commercial failure of the herbicide to control these plants in the field. Conversely, a nontarget site resistance mechanism has been documented in glyphosate-resistant populations of horseweed and rigid ryegrass from the United States and Australia, respectively. In these resistant plants, there is reduced translocation of glyphosate to meristematic tissues. Both of these mechanisms are inherited as a single, nuclear gene trait. Although at present only two glyphosate-resistance mechanisms are known, it is likely that other mechanisms will become evident. The already very large and still increasing reliance on glyphosate in many parts of the world will inevitably result in more glyphosate-resistant weeds, placing the sustainability of this precious herbicide resource at risk.

Spray retention, foliar uptake and translocation of glufosinate and glyphosate in Ambrosia artemisiifolia

Summary Ambrosia artemisiifolia plants exhibit stomata on both leaf surfaces and three types of trichomes: (i) small (<50 μm) spherical or ovoid, (ii) medium‐sized (50–100 μm) and (iii) long (100–200 μm) and sharp. Only the long and sharp trichomes were stained with AgNO3, indicating the presence of hydrophilic domains. Epicuticular waxes appeared amorphous, consistent with high levels of spray retention. Glufosinate was readily taken up by A. artemisiifolia leaves, with maximum uptake of >80% of the applied label, and half maximum uptake being reached within 6 h. The foliar uptake of glyphosate was nearly complete and half of it was attained after 3 h. Glufosinate and glyphosate were ambimobile and their translocation out of the treated leaves amounted to 13–16% and 11–15% of the absorbed radioactive label respectively. Glufosinate was mainly directed to the apical developing tissues, with less amounts reaching the tissues below the treated leaves. Glyphosate was directed towards the sink tissues (apical developing tissues and roots). The sensitivity of A. artemisiifolia to glufosinate and glyphosate can be explained by high spray retention, rapid and important foliar uptake, and appreciable migration out of the parts of the plant hit by the spray.

Prairie cupgrass (Eriochloa contract) and windmillgrass (Chloris verticillata) response to glyphosate and acetyl-CoA carboxylase–inhibiting herbicides

Abstract A greenhouse experiment was conducted to determine the efficacy of glyphosate and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase)–inhibiting herbicides sethoxydim, clethodim, and quizalofop on prairie cupgrass and windmillgrass. Herbicides were applied at seedling, tillering, and heading growth stages. In addition, a study to determine glyphosate absorption and translocation in both species was conducted. Herbicide treatments were glyphosate at 541, 841, and 1121 g ha−1 and sethoxydim, clethodim, and quizalofop at 350, 210, and 70 g ha−1, respectively. In general, control of prairie cupgrass and windmillgrass increased as the rate of glyphosate increased. In addition, windmillgrass was less susceptible to glyphosate at heading and seedling stages than was prairie cupgrass. Efficacy of all ACCase-inhibiting herbicides applied at any growth stage was equal to or greater than efficacy of the highest rate of glyphosate applied at the same stage. Furthermore, all herbicide treatments were more phytotoxic to prairie c...

Factors Affecting Sprouting and Glyphosate Translocation in Rootstocks of Redvine (Brunnichia ovata) and Trumpetcreeper (Campsis radicans)1

Greenhouse and growth chamber experiments were conducted to investigate the sprouting potential of rootstock; the effect of temperature, burial depth, and length of rootstock on sprouting; and the effect of shoot removal on resprouting ability of rootstock in redvine and trumpetcreeper. Glyphosate translocation along the rootstock of redvine was also measured. Higher sprouting was observed at 20 to 40 C in trumpetcreeper (60 to 73%) and at 30 to 40 C in redvine (45 to 47%) compared with other temperatures. Redvine sprouting was totally inhibited at 15 C, whereas trumpetcreeper had a sprouting of 12%. Emergence of shoot from a 28-cm planting depth was completely inhibited in redvine, whereas trumpetcreeper had 23% sprout emergence. After shoot removal treatments applied every 3 wk, redvine rootstock segments ≤2 cm long were totally depleted after fifth shoot removal treatment (15 wk after planting [WAP]). In trumpetcreeper, total depletion was not reached by 15 WAP, regardless of rootstock length. 14C-glyphosate was translocated from the treated shoot attached to the apical end of a 35-cm rootstock to the untreated end with slightly less 14C-glyphosate recovered at the untreated end compared with 5 to 10 cm from the treated shoot. These results indicated that vegetative reproduction in redvine is more sensitive to cool temperatures, deep burial depth, and short rootstock segment than trumpetcreeper. Variable control of redvine with glyphosate could be due to inadequate herbicide translocation within the rootstock.Nomenclature: Glyphosate; redvine, Brunnichia ovata (Walt.) Shinners #3 BRVCI; trumpetcreeper, Campsis radicans (L.) Seem. ex Bureau # CMIRA.Additional index words: Absorption, regrowth, sprout regeneration, uptake.Abbreviations: DAT, days after treatment; WAP, weeks after planting; WAT, weeks after treatment.

Glyphosate resistance in four different populations of Lolium rigidum is associated with reduced translocation of glyphosate to meristematic zones

SummaryWeed populations with resistance to glyphosate have evolved over the last 7 years, since the discovery of the first glyphosate‐resistant populations of Lolium rigidum in Australia. Four populations of L. rigidum from cropping, horticultural and viticultural areas in New South Wales and South Australia were tested for resistance to glyphosate by dose–response experiments. All populations required considerably more glyphosate to achieve 50% control compared with a known susceptible population, indicating they were resistant to glyphosate. Translocation of glyphosate within these resistant populations was examined by following the movement of radiolabelled glyphosate applied to a mature leaf. All resistant plants translocated significantly more herbicide to the tip of the treated leaf than did susceptible plants. Susceptible plants translocated twice as much herbicide to the stem meristematic portion of the plant compared with resistant plants. These different translocation patterns suggest an association between glyphosate resistance in L. rigidum and the ability of glyphosate to accumulate in the shoot meristem.

Absorção, translocação e metabolismo do glyphosate por plantas tolerantes e suscetíveis a este herbicida

O objetivo deste trabalho foi caracterizar a absorção foliar, a translocação e o metabolismo do 14C-glyphosate pelas plantas daninhas Commelina benghalensis, Ipomoea grandifolia e Amaranthus hybridus. O glyphosate foi aplicado através de quatro gotas de 0,5 µL de uma solução contendo o produto comercial, na dose de campo de 720 g e.a. ha-1 em mistura com 14C-glyphosate, na face adaxial da segunda folha verdadeira das plantas estudadas. As avaliações foram feitas a 2, 4, 8, 12, 24, 48 e 72 horas após o tratamento com o herbicida (HAT) para os estudos de absorção e translocação e 72 HAT para os estudos de metabolismo. Os resultados de absorção e translocação demonstraram que mais de 90% do glyphosate aplicado foi absorvido por A. hybridus até 72 HAT. A maior parte do herbicida permaneceu na folha tratada, com uma taxa de translocação em torno de 25% do glyphosate aplicado. Em I. grandifolia, 80% do herbicida foi absorvido até 72 HAT, porém houve menor translocação-somente 2,2; 3,5; e 4,6% de 14C glyphosate absorvido estava presente na parte aérea, no caule e na raiz. C. benghalensis apresentou uma taxa de absorção de 66% até 72 HAT, sendo, portanto, a penetração diferencial do herbicida glyphosate um provável mecanismo de tolerância desta planta daninha. Nessa avaliação, 39% do glyphosate estava presente na folha tratada e 15,2 e 11,6% na parte aérea e raiz, respectivamente. Nos estudos de metabolismo foi detectado o metabólito ácido aminometilfosfônico (AMPA) apenas em C. benghalensis, sendo, portanto, o metabolismo diferencial um possível mecanismo de tolerância desta planta daninha. Os resultados obtidos nesta pesquisa permitem concluir que os mecanismos de tolerância de C. benghalensis ao glyphosate são a absorção diferencial e o metabolismo do herbicida pela planta daninha. Em I. grandifolia a tolerância ocorre devido a uma menor translocação do herbicida, não havendo evidências de metabolismo diferencial do herbicida por esta planta daninha.

Investigations into glyphosate-resistant horseweed (Conyza canadensis): retention, uptake, translocation, and metabolism

The mechanism of glyphosate resistance in horseweed was investigated. Eleven biotypes of putative sensitive (S) and resistant (R) horseweed were obtained from regions across the United States and examined for foliar retention, absorption, translocation, and metabolism of glyphosate. Initial studies used spray application of14C-glyphosate to simulate field application. When S and R biotypes were compared in the absence of toxicity at a sublethal dose, we observed comparable retention and absorption but reduced root translocation in the R biotypes. S and R biotypes from Delaware were further examined at field use rates and results confirmed similar retention and absorption but reduced root translocation in the R biotypes. Application of14C-glyphosate to a single leaf demonstrated reduced export out of the treated leaf and lower glyphosate import into other leaves, the roots, and the crown in R relative to S biotypes. Examination of the treated leaf by autoradiography showed that glyphosate loading into the apoplast and phloem was delayed and reduced in the R biotype. Our results consistently showed a strong correlation between impaired glyphosate translocation and resistance. Tissues from both S and R biotypes showed elevated levels of shikimate suggesting that 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) remained sensitive to glyphosate. Analysis of tissue shikimate levels demonstrated reduced efficiency in EPSPS inhibition in the R biotypes. Our results suggest that resistance is likely due to altered cellular distribution that impaired phloem loading and plastidic import of glyphosate resulting in reduced overall translocation as well as inhibition of EPSPS.

Absorption, translocation and allocation of glyphosate in resistant and susceptible Chilean biotypes of Lolium multiflorum

Glyphosate [N‐(phosphonomethyl) glycine] is currently the most important non‐selective, wide‐spectrum herbicide used worldwide. Introduced in 1974, glyphosate was initially a non‐crop herbicide and plantation crop herbicide, although it is now widely used in no‐till crop production and, more recently, for weed control in herbicide‐resistant transgenic crops, such as maize, soybean and cotton (Baylis 2000; Caseley & Copping 2000). Despite its widespread and long‐term use, no case of evolved resistance to glyphosate was documented until 1996 (Pratley et al. 1996). Since then, a few other cases have been reported. To date, evolved resistance to glyphosate has been identified and documented in Lollium rigidum in Australia (Powles et al. 1998; Pratley et al. 1999), Eleusine indica in Malaysia (Lee & Ngim 2000), and L. rigidum in South Africa and California (USA), and Conyzia canadensis in Delawere (USA) (Van Gessel 2001). Also, accessions of L. rigidum from South Africa and California have been reported to resist glyphosate (Heap 2001). In Chile, the first case of glyphosate‐resistance in Lolium multiflorum was reported in 1999 and documented in 2003 (Pérez & Kogan 2003). This case was the result of an intensive selection pressure caused by the continuous applications of glyphosate in fruit orchards over 8–10 years. The present study is a first approach to elucidating the mechanism involved in the resistance of one biotype of L. multiflorum selected in Chilean orchards.

Phytotoxic activity of root absorbed glyphosate in corn seedlings (Zea mays L.)

Growth chamber experiments were conducted in order to study the absorption, translocation and activity of glyphosate when applied to roots with aqueous solution avoiding any glyphosate–substrate interaction. Corn seedlings at the first leaf stage were set up in individual graduated cylinders containing different solutions of 14C‐glyphosate (0–30 mg ae kg−1). After 26 h of root exposure, plants were transferred to fresh nutrient solution and grown for the next 5 days. After harvest, plants were separated into seed, root, mesocotyle, coleoptile, cotyledon, first leaf and all new leaves (apex), and quantified 14C radioactivity contained in each part. Glyphosate uptake was only 11% of the theoretical mass flow into the plant. The amount of glyphosate translocated from roots was positively correlated with plant uptake (P < 0.01). Total plant fresh weight presented a logistic response to glyphosate amounts, including a growth stimulant effect (hormesis), when plants absorbed less than 0.6 µg. The treated plants presented a normal pattern of glyphosate allocation, with the apex the principal sink, accumulating more than 38% of mobilized glyphosate. When corn plants absorbed more than 0.6 µg they showed a decrease in growth. The relatively high glyphosate quantities allocated in the new leaves showed the relevance of the symplastic pathway in the translocation process for root absorbed glyphosate.

Glyphosate translocation in common lambsquarters (Chenopodium album) and velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti) in response to ammonium sulfate

Abstract Greenhouse studies were conducted to determine the response of common lambsquarters and velvetleaf to glyphosate applied alone or with 20 g L−1 of ammonium sulfate (AMS). Minimal response of common lambsquarters to glyphosate plus AMS was observed. The GR50 values for velvetleaf decreased dramatically from 451 to 92 g ha−1 for glyphosate applied alone and glyphosate plus AMS, respectively. The addition of AMS did not affect foliar absorption of 14C-glyphosate in common lambsquarters but increased absorption in velvetleaf. A twofold increase in translocation, as a percentage of total 14C-glyphosate absorbed, occurred in velvetleaf with the addition of AMS. Increased control of velvetleaf with glyphosate plus AMS may be partially explained by greater glyphosate absorption and translocation. Increased translocation of glyphosate applied with AMS in velvetleaf was an indirect effect of greater foliar uptake as well as greater partitioning of glyphosate out of the treated leaf. Nomenclature: Glyphosat...

Efficacy of glyphosate, glufosinate, and imazethapyr on selected weed species

Experiments were conducted to determine the efficacy, absorption, and translocation of glyphosate, glufosinate, and imazethapyr with selected weed species. In the greenhouse glyphosate, glufosinate, and imazethapyr were applied at 0.25, 0.5, and 1 times their label rates of 1,121, 410, and 70 g ha−1, respectively, on 10- to 15-cm black nightshade, common waterhemp, eastern black nightshade, field bindweed, giant ragweed, ivyleaf morningglory, prairie cupgrass, velvetleaf, and yellow nutsedge. Glyphosate applied at the 1-time rate caused injury greater than or similar to injury from the 1-time rate of glufosinate or imazethapyr on black nightshade, common waterhemp, eastern black nightshade, field bindweed, giant ragweed, prairie cupgrass, and velvetleaf. The 1-time rate of glufosinate injured ivyleaf morningglory and yellow nutsedge more than did the 1-time rate of glyphosate or imazethapyr. Under field conditions glyphosate caused the greatest injury to common waterhemp, prairie cupgrass, and velvetleaf across plant growth stages. Giant ragweed and ivyleaf morningglory injury was more dependent on growth stage, with the 15- and 30-cm growth stages more susceptible to glyphosate than to glufosinate or imazethapyr. Differential response of these weed species may be caused by differences in herbicide translocation. Glyphosate was translocated more in both giant ragweed and ivyleaf morningglory, and these species were injured more by glyphosate than by glufosinate or imazethapyr at the larger growth stages.

Investigations into the mechanism of glyphosate resistance in Lolium rigidum

Glyphosate is a widely used non-selective herbicide to which so far only three weed species have evolved resistance. Here, we report on the mechanism of glyphosate resistance in one resistant population of Lolium rigidum (Gaud.). Experiments demonstrate that glyphosate resistance in this population is directly correlated with increased transport of the herbicide to leaf tips. No significant differences in the level of expression of the herbicide target site, EPSP synthase, between resistant and susceptible plants were found and the enzyme is equally sensitive to inhibition by glyphosate in both populations. Similarly, plant metabolism of glyphosate does not contribute to resistance. Resistant and susceptible plants are equally capable of absorbing the applied herbicide. The most notable difference between resistant and susceptible populations is found in the translocation of glyphosate. Following treatment, an accumulation of glyphosate in the roots of susceptible plants is observed, whereas glyphosate accumulates in the leaf tips of resistant plants. Taken together, it seems likely that an alteration to the cellular transport of glyphosate confers resistance.

Absorption, translocation, and fate of herbicides in Orobanche cumana–sunflower system

The absorption and translocation of [ 14 C ]pronamide, [ 14 C ]glyphosate, and [ 14 C ]imazapyr and the metabolism of [ 14 C ]imazapyr, were studied in the Orobanche cumana–sunflower system. [ 14 C ]Pronamide was applied as a sunflower seed treatment by coating or soaking. Herbicide absorption was affected by method of seed treatment, but not the subsequent pattern of herbicide distribution within the sunflower plant. Herbicide absorption by the seed was 9.8 and 3.4%, respectively. The translocation of the radioactive herbicide from the treated seed to the rest of the plant was greater for the coating than for the soaking treatment, regardless of the presence or absence of parasitic plants. The leaves were the sunflower component in which larger amount of [ 14 C ]pronamide was detected, reaching up to 3.24 and 2.45% for the coating application and the non-infested and infested sunflower, respectively. Translocation of the herbicide from the root system of the host plant to the parasitic plant was 0.61 and 0.21% for the coating and soaking treatments, respectively, in infested sunflower. [ 14 C ]Glyphosate and [ 14 C ]imazapyr were applied as a post-emergence treatment to sunflower, whether it was parasitized by O. cumana or not. Glyphosate translocation within the host plant did not differ between O. cumana-infested and non-infested plants and most of the radioactivity remained in the treated leaf. Translocation of [ 14 C ]glyphosate to O. cumana reached 5.5% at 3 DAT. The absorption of [ 14 C ]imazapyr by the treated leaf was greater than [ 14 C ]glyphosate absorption at 1 DAT. Similarly, higher levels of imazapyr were accumulated by O. cumana from the treated leaf. The metabolism study of [ 14 C ]imazapyr showed a constant presence of imazapyr in the treated leaf at 16%, but in O. cumana the parent compound was 51.4% of the total recovered radioactivity 6 DAT. The deposit of imazapyr in O. cumana and the low metabolism in this species may explain the control of O. cumana by this herbicide.

Mechanisms of glyphosate toxicity in velvetleaf ( Abutilon theophrasti medikus)

In velvetleaf source leaves, glyphosate caused gradual inhibition of photosynthesis that increased over several days and was nearly complete by five days. Gas exchange measurements revealed that a decrease in stomatal conductance was a major factor in this reduction. Calvin cycle metabolite levels diminished along with photosynthesis rates but to a lesser extent than stomatal conductance, as indicated by the rise in water use efficiency and the lowering of internal leaf carbon dioxide. Though accumulation of shikimate confirmed that glyphosate was being taken up by the source leaves, this was insufficient to explain the lessened effect on photosynthesis. The protracted inhibition of photosynthesis allowed for greater translocation of glyphosate to sink tissues where it inflicted substantial damage. Consequently, sink tissue processes were more susceptible to disruption by glyphosate than were source leaf processes. The data also support the view that death of velvetleaf tissues was a result of restriction of water availability to the shoot induced by lethal disruption of root processes. The mechanism of prolonged plant death generated by sink tissue toxicity in velvetleaf contrasts with the mechanism observed in sugar beet, where death occurs rapidly due to the inhibition of source leaf processes.

Absorption and translocation of glyphosate in glyphosate-resistant cotton as influenced by application method and growth stage

The influence of herbicide placement and plant growth stage on the absorption and translocation patterns of 14C-glyphosate in glyphosate-resistant cotton was investigated. Plants at four growth stages were treated with 14C-glyphosate on a 5-cm2 section of the stem, which simulated a postemergence-directed spray (PDS) application, or on the newest mature leaf, which simulated a postemergence (POST) application. Plants were harvested 3 and 7 d after treatment and divided into the treated leaf or treated stem, mature leaves, immature leaves and buds, stems, roots, fruiting branches (including the foliage on the fruiting branch), squares, and bolls. The PDS versus POST application main effect on absorption was significant. Absorption of 14C-glyphosate applied to stem tissue was higher in PDS applications than in POST applications. Plants receiving PDS applications absorbed 35% of applied 14C-glyphosate, whereas those receiving POST applications absorbed 26%, averaged over growth stages at application. Absorption increased from the four-leaf growth stage to the eight-leaf stage in POST applications but reached a plateau at the eight-leaf stage. Plants with PDS applications showed an increase in absorption from the four- to eight- to twelve-leaf stages and reached a plateau at the 12-leaf stage. Translocation of 14C-glyphosate to roots was greater at all growth stages with PDS treatments than with POST treatments. Herbicide placement did not affect translocation of 14C-glyphosate to squares and bolls. Squares and bolls retained 0.2 to 3.7% of applied 14C-glyphosate, depending on growth stage. Separate studies were conducted to investigate the fate of foliar-applied 14C-glyphosate at the four- or eight-leaf growth stages when harvested at 8- or 10-leaf, 12-leaf, midbloom (8 to 10 nodes above white bloom), and cutout (five nodes above white bloom, physiological maturity) stages. Thirty to 37% of applied 14C-glyphosate remained in the plant at cutout in four- and eight-leaf treatment stages, respectively. The concentration of 14C-glyphosate in tissue (Bq g−1 dry weight basis) was greatest in mature leaves and immature leaves and buds in plants treated at the four-leaf stage. Plants treated at the eight-leaf stage and harvested at all growth stages except cutout showed a higher concentration of 14C-glyphosate in squares than in other plant tissue. Accumulation of 14C-glyphosate in squares reached a maximum of 43 Bq g−1 dry weight at harvest at the 12-leaf stage. This concentration corresponds to 5.7 times greater accumulation of 14C-glyphosate in squares than in roots, which may also be metabolic sinks. These data suggest that reproductive tissues such as bolls and squares can accumulate 14C-glyphosate at higher concentrations than other tissues, especially when the herbicide treatment is applied either POST or PDS during reproductive stages (eight-leaf stage and beyond).

Optimizing foliar activity of glyphosate on Bidens frondosa and Panicum maximum with different adjuvant types

The influence of non‐ionic (X‐77) and organosilicone (L‐77) adjuvants and of methylated seed oil (MSO) on the uptake, translocation and efficacy of glyphosate was investigated in Bidens frondosa L. and Panicum maximum Jacq. In addition, the physicochemical properties of adjuvants and adjuvant + glyphosate aqueous solutions were determined. Significantly lower surface tension and contact angle values were obtained with aqueous solutions of L‐77 alone and with glyphosate. Over a 48‐h time course, it was observed that >50% of applied 14C‐glyphosate was absorbed within 15 min in B. frondosa with L‐77. At 6 h and thereafter, 14C glyphosate absorption was significantly higher with MSO compared with X‐77 in B. frondosa. In P. maximum, uptake and translocation of 14C‐glyphosate + adjuvant were increased in general up to 48 h after treatment application, except with L‐77, which showed no improvement in uptake – instead there was a significant reduction compared with no treatment with L‐77. This indicated its antagonistic effect on this grass species. The lower values of 14C‐glyphosate in P. maximum also confirmed that adjuvant effects were species specific. In the efficacy studies, glyphosate formulated with L‐77 achieved significantly higher control of B. frondosa, while there was no control of P. maximum with this treatment. This confirmed antagonism in glyphosate absorption into P. maximum by L‐77. Furthermore, significantly higher control of tested plants was recorded with MSO in comparison to X‐77, which confirms the solubilizing or humectant nature of MSO.