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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Oxford, Mississippi » Natural Products Utilization Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #304423
Title: The growing need for biochemical bioherbicides

Author
item Duke, Stephen
item Owens, Daniel
item Dayan, Franck

Submitted to: ACS Symposium Series
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/10/2014
Publication Date: 10/23/2014
Citation: Duke, S.O., Owens, D.K., Dayan, F.E. 2014. The growing need for biochemical bioherbicides. In: ACS Symposium Series, Biopesticides: State of the Art and Future Opportunties. American Chemical Society. 1172:31-43.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The volume of herbicide use outpaces that of other pesticides. Evolution of resistance to the currently used herbicides has greatly increased the need for new modes of action (MOAs). More than 20 years have passed since the last new herbicide MOA was introduced. Natural products offer a source of new herbicide chemistries with new MOAs. Additionally, there are no efficacious and economical weed management chemicals (biochemical bioherbicides) available for organic agriculture. The products that are available, such as organic acids, fats, and oils, are burndown products that have to be used in very large amounts. None of these products act at enzymatic sites as conventional, synthetic herbicides do. Examples are given of natural compounds that act at specific targets like conventional herbicides, but with new MOAs. Thus, new biochemical biocherbicides have the potential for greatly improving weed management in organic agriculture and providing new MOAs for conventional agriculture.