Herbicide resistant weeds in New Zealand: state of knowledge

ABSTRACT

Herbicide-resistant weeds are serious threats to agricultural production. Since a review published in 1996, the number of different examples of weed biotypes developing resistance to one or more herbicides in New Zealand has almost quadrupled. By 1996, six weed species had been shown to have developed resistant biotypes, mostly to either triazine or auxinic herbicides. Most of the herbicide-resistant weed species reported in 1996 were found in the pasture and arable sectors. Evolved herbicide resistance has now been confirmed for a further eight weed species, with resistance to nine herbicide sites of action (giving a total of 25 cases of resistance) now reported in different New Zealand agricultural and non-agricultural sectors. Developing an effective herbicide resistance management strategy requires a good understanding of both the extent of the problem, and also molecular and biochemical aspects of herbicide resistance, in order to develop innovative techniques to overcome herbicide resistance.

KEYWORDS:

• Broadleaf weed species
• grass weed species
• herbicide resistance
• mechanism of resistance
• New Zealand

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

Financial support for the authors was provided by the Endeavour fund (C10X1806, Managing Herbicide Resistance) from the New Zealand Ministry for Business Innovation and Employment.