Meet GROW’s New Page: The Basics of Herbicide Resistance

Sometimes, to solve a complex problem like herbicide resistance, you have to go back to the beginning and master the basics. That’s the aim of GROW’s newest webpage, a 10-step primer on learning The Basics of Herbicide Resistance. It not only covers what herbicide resistance is and how it develops, but also how to identify it, and what future threats might be evolving, such as metabolic resistance. 

The new page was written by Penn State University emeritus weed scientist (and GROW outreach member) Dr. William Curran, in conjunction with GROW outreach specialist Claudio Rubione. Listen to Curran explain how this page is the first step in helping farmers and the ag industry fight herbicide resistance: 

The new GROW page presents a comprehensive overview of herbicide resistance through a series of boxes, which open up to give the reader detailed answers to 10 fundamental questions on herbicide resistance.

  1. How do we define herbicide resistance, susceptibility, and tolerance? 
  2. How does herbicide resistance happen? 
  3. Can you reverse herbicide resistance? 
  4. What does it cost to manage herbicide resistance? 
  5. How do you identify herbicide resistance? 
  6. How are herbicides classified based on modes of action (MOA)? 
  7. What are cross and multiple herbicide resistance? 
  8. What are the mechanisms for herbicide resistance? 
  9. Are all weeds and herbicides vulnerable to resistance? 
  10. What can we expect from new herbicide modes-of-action or other technologies? 

Looking for a deeper dive? Each section presents an initial overview of the answer and then offers an “Expand for More Information” option, which unlocks a more technical level of detail for interested audiences. 

But wait, there’s more! Stay tuned for the publication of a second page on this topic, which will take a similar approach to unpacking how farmers can try to manage herbicide resistance. 

In the meantime, head on over to The Basics of Herbicide Resistance, and let us know what you think!


Video and header photo by Claudio Rubione, GROW; narration by William S. Curran, PSU emeritus; text and story graphics by Emily Unglesbee, GROW