Kochia [Bassia scoparia (L.) A.J. Scott] is an invasive tumbleweed in the North American Great Plains that is difficult to manage in croplands and ruderal areas due to widespread resistance to up to four herbicide sites of action, including auxin mimics (Herbicide Resistance Action Committee [HRAC] Group 4) and inhibitors of acetolactate synthase (HRAC Group 2), photosystem II (HRAC Group 5), and 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (HRAC Group 9). Poor B. scoparia control with protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PPO)-inhibiting (HRAC Group 14) herbicides was noted in a brown mustard [Brassica juncea (L.) Czern.] field near Kindersley, SK, Canada, in 2021. Similar observations were made in a sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) field near Mandan, ND, USA, and in research plots near Minot, ND, USA, in 2022. Whole-plant dose–response experiments were conducted to determine whether these B. scoparia accessions were resistant to the PPO-inhibiting herbicides saflufenacil and carfentrazone and the level of resistance observed. All three B. scoparia accessions were highly resistant to foliar-applied saflufenacil and carfentrazone compared with two locally relevant susceptible accessions. The Kindersley accession exhibited 57- to 87-fold resistance to saflufenacil and 97- to 121-fold resistance to carfentrazone based on biomass dry weight at 21 d after treatment (DAT). Similarly, the Mandan accession exhibited 204- to 321-fold resistance to saflufenacil and 111- to 330-fold resistance to carfentrazone, while the Minot accession exhibited 45- to 71-fold resistance to saflufenacil and 88- to 264-fold resistance to carfentrazone. Substantial differences in visible control at 7 and 21/28 DAT were also observed between the putative-resistant and susceptible accessions. This study represents the first confirmations of PPO inhibitor–resistant B. scoparia globally and the fifth herbicide site of action to which B. scoparia has evolved resistance. It also documents this issue present at three locations in the Northern Great Plains region that occur up to 790 km apart and on both sides of the Canada/U.S. border.
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28 March 2025
Protoporphyrinogen Oxidase (PPO)-Inhibitor Resistance in Kochia (Bassia scoparia)
Charles M. Geddes,
Quincy D. Law,
Brian M. Jenks,
Kirk A. Howatt,
Joseph T. Ikley,
Austin Jaster,
Mattea M. Pittman,
Keith Biggers,
Ingo Meiners,
Aimone Porri
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Weed Science
Vol. 73 • No. 1
January 2025
Vol. 73 • No. 1
January 2025
Carfentrazone
Group 14
Herbicide resistance
integrated weed management
Kochia scoparia (L.) Schrad.
Northern Great Plains
saflufenacil