Cross- and Multiple-Resistance of the Problematic Grass Weeds to the Commonly Used Herbicides of Wheat and Canola

The development of herbicide-resistant weed species is a threat to the agricultural industry in Iran and the world. The first step in managing this issue is the identification of herbicide-resistant populations. In this study, 124 and 45 grass weed accessions, including winter wild oat, annual ryegrass, and littleseed canarygrass, were collected from wheat and canola fields, respectively, in different provinces of Iran. The accessions were screened using commonly used herbicides at the three- to four-leaf stage. The weed accessions collected from wheat fields were exposed to the recommended field dose of clodinafop-propargyl, pinoxaden, mesosulfuron-methyl+iodosulfuron-methyl-Na, and mesosulfuron-methyl+iodosulfuron-methyl-Na+diflufenican. Similarly, the canola grass weeds were treated with haloxyfop-R-methyl, sethoxydim, cycloxydim, and clethodim. The experiment was carried out based on a completely randomized design with four replications under controlled greenhouse conditions. Four weeks after spraying, the fresh weight of the populations was measured. The results showed that 52, 9, 19, and 17% of grass weeds in wheat fields were resistant to clodinafop-propargyl, pinoxaden, mesosulfuron-methyl+iodosulfuron-methyl-Na, and mesosulfuron-methyl+iodosulfuron-methyl-Na+diflufenican, respectively. Morover, 47, 47, and 22% of the canola grass weeds showed resistance to haloxyfop-R-methyl, sethoxydim, and clethodim, respectively; while they were susceptible to cycloxydim. Cross-resistance to selective herbicides in canola was observed in 36% of the tested grass weed species. Additionally, multiple resistance to both ACCase and ALS inhibitors in wheat fields was identified in 13% of winter wild oat and 82% of annual ryegrass populations, respectively. It is recommended to avoid the use of herbicides with the same mechanism of action for controlling grass weeds in areas where the wheat and canola rotation system is prevalent