Herbicide resistance traits in corn and soybean: Current status and future outlook

Authors: Nandula, Vijay

Submitted to: Plants
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/6/2019
Publication Date: 9/9/2019
Citation: Nandula, V.K. 2019. Herbicide resistance traits in corn and soybean: Current status and future outlook. Plants. 8(9):337. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants8090337.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/plants8090337

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: This article reviews, focusing on corn and soybean, previous efforts to develop nontransgenic herbicide resistant (HR) crops, currently available transgenic HR crop traits and technologies, as well as future chemical weed management options over the horizon. Since the mid twentieth century, herbicides rapidly replaced all other means of weed management. Overreliance on ‘herbicides only’ weed control strategies hastened evolution of herbicide resistant weed species. Glyphosate-resistant (GR) crop technology revolutionized weed management in agronomic crops, but GR weeds, led by Palmer amaranth, severely reduced returns from various cropping systems affecting the bottom-line of growers across the world. An additional problem was the lack of commercialization of a new herbicide mode of action since the 1990s. Auxinic herbicide resistant crops offer a short-term alternative towards management of GR Palmer amaranth and other weed species. New HR crops stacked with multiple herbicide resistance traits and at least two new herbicide modes of action expected to be available in the mid-2020s provide new chemical options for weed management in row crops in the next decade.