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Research Project: New Weed Management Tools from Natural Product-Based Discoveries

Location: Natural Products Utilization Research

Title: Lack of effects of glyphosate and glufosinate on growth, mineral content, and yield of glyphosate- and glufosinate-resistant maize

Author
item COSTA, FLAVIA - University Of Santa Catarina
item RECH, RAFAEL - University Of Santa Catarina
item Duke, Stephen
item CARVALHO, LEONARDO - Sao Paulo State University (UNESP)

Submitted to: GM Crops & Food
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/27/2018
Publication Date: 7/27/2018
Citation: Costa, F.R., Rech, R., Duke, S.O., Carvalho, L.B. 2018. Lack of effects of glyphosate and glufosinate on growth, mineral content, and yield of glyphosate- and glufosinate-resistant maize. GM Crops & Food. https://doi.org/10.1080/21645698.2018.1511204.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/21645698.2018.1511204

Interpretive Summary: Whether herbicides used in transgenic, herbicide-resistant crops are detrimental to yield and mineral nutrition of those crops has been controversial. Transgenic, glyphosate-resistant/glufosinate-resistant corn was treated with these herbicides in the greenhouse and field to determine if there were any adverse effects on mineral nutrition and yield. None of the herbicide treatments affected plant growth, yield, or content of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Mn, Fe, Cu, or Zn in the greenhouse or field.

Technical Abstract: Whether herbicides used in transgenic, herbicide-resistant crops are detrimental to those crops has been controversial. Most all of the data on this topic has been on glyphosate-resistant (GR) soybean, with little information available on GR and glufosinate-resistant (GluR) maize. A GR plus GluR maize variety was evaluated in the greenhouse and the field for effects of glyphosate and glufosinate on growth, mineral content, and yield. Treatments were: 1) a herbicide-free control; 2) 980 g a.e. ha-1 glyphosate at 21 days after emergence (DAE); 3) 600 g a.i. ha-1 glufosinate at 21 DAE; 4) sequential applications of glyphosate at 520 and 980 g a.e. ha-1 at 14 and 28 DAE, respectively; 5) sequential applications of glufosinate at 300 and 300 g a.i. ha-1 at 14 and 28 DAE, respectively; and 6) sequential application of glyphosate (980 g a.e. ha-1) and glufosinate (600 g a.i. ha-1) at 14 and 28 DAE, respectively. None of the herbicide treatments affected plant growth, yield, or content of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Mn, Fe, Cu, or Zn in the greenhouse or field. In grain of field-grown plants, no glufosinate was found and glyphosate (0.12 ng g-1) was only found in the sequential glyphosate treatment.