Efficiency and selectivity of Roundup Ready and Liberty Link weed cotrol techniques compared to classical weed control systems
2000
May, M.J. (Institute of Arable Crops Research Broom's Barn, Higham (United Kingdom))
The herbicides glyphosate and glufosinate-ammonium, as used in the Roundup Ready (RR) and Liberty Link (LL) systems of weed control, provide a broader spectrum of weed control in sugar beet than current weed control systems. In addition, they will kill weeds at larger growth stages than current techniques and are safer to the crop than current herbicide programmes, especially when weather conditions are extreme. These factors will facilitate grower's decision making for sugar beet weed control and reduce the number of active ingredients used in the beet crop. Glyphosate and glufosinate-ammonium have the ability to kill pernicious weeds such as Cirsium arvense, Elymus repens, Solanum tuberosum and other perennials, as well as grass weeds (including the current herbicide resistant Alopecurus myosuroides). This could reduce the use of glyphosate and glufosinate-ammonium elsewhere in the rotation. The need for 'clean-up' sprays of these herbicides or paraquat + diquat before the beet emerge would be eliminated. These new herbicide systems could also improve the farm environment by allowing farmers to leave weeds later in the life of the crop before killing them or grow cover crops before or within the sugar beet. Such cover crops (which may be weeds instead of crops) are difficult to manage and kill with classical herbicide systems. Costs of the new systems are likely to be lower than current techniques and are also likely to reduce the cost of weed control throughout the rotation. Glyphosate and glufosinate-ammonium have better environmental and toxicological profiles than most of the herbicides they replace and, therefore, in theory have few restrictions on their use.
Show more [+] Less [-]AGROVOC Keywords
Bibliographic information
This bibliographic record has been provided by University of Liège