IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v8y2016i12p1297-d84828.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Eco-Evolutionary Imperative: Revisiting Weed Management in the Midst of an Herbicide Resistance Crisis

Author

Listed:
  • Fabian D. Menalled

    (Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717-3120, USA)

  • Robert K. D. Peterson

    (Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717-3120, USA)

  • Richard G. Smith

    (Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • William S. Curran

    (Department of Plant Sciences, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA)

  • David J. Páez

    (Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717-3120, USA)

  • Bruce D. Maxwell

    (Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717-3120, USA)

Abstract

Modern weed science is at a crossroads. Born out of advances in chemistry, it has focused on minimizing weed competition with genetically uniform crops and heavy reliance on herbicides. Paradoxically, the success obtained with such an approach and the reluctance to conduct integrated and multidisciplinary research has resulted in unintended, but predictable, consequences, including the selection of herbicide resistant biotypes. Advances in eco-evolutionary biology, a relatively recent discipline that seeks to understand how local population dynamics arise from phenotypic variation resulting from natural selection, habitat distribution, and propagule dispersal across the landscape are transforming our understanding of the processes that regulate agroecosystems. Within this framework, complementary tactics to develop alternative weed management programs include the following: (1) weed scientists must recognize that evolution occurs within crop fields at ecologically-relevant time scales and is rooted in the inherent variation that exists in all populations; (2) weed management should recognize that the probability of a resistant mutant is directly related to the population size; (3) farmers need to acknowledge that herbicide resistance transcends any one farm and should coordinate local practices with regional actions; (4) incentives should be developed and implemented to help the adoption of eco-evolutionary management programs; and (5) risk analysis can help incorporate an eco-evolutionary perspective into integrated weed management programs.

Suggested Citation

  • Fabian D. Menalled & Robert K. D. Peterson & Richard G. Smith & William S. Curran & David J. Páez & Bruce D. Maxwell, 2016. "The Eco-Evolutionary Imperative: Revisiting Weed Management in the Midst of an Herbicide Resistance Crisis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-15, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:8:y:2016:i:12:p:1297-:d:84828
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/12/1297/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/12/1297/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Smith, Richard G., 2015. "A succession-energy framework for reducing non-target impacts of annual crop production," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 14-21.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Benaragama, Dilshan I. & Willenborg, Christian J. & Shirtliffe, Steve J. & Gulden, Rob H., 2024. "Revisiting cropping systems research: An ecological framework towards long-term weed management," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    2. Tim Seipel & Suzanne L. Ishaq & Christian Larson & Fabian D. Menalled, 2022. "Weed Communities in Winter Wheat: Responses to Cropping Systems under Different Climatic Conditions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-13, June.
    3. Karla L. Gage & Ronald F. Krausz & S. Alan Walters, 2019. "Emerging Challenges for Weed Management in Herbicide-Resistant Crops," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-11, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.

      Corrections

      All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:8:y:2016:i:12:p:1297-:d:84828. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

      If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

      If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

      If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

      For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

      Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

      IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.