Herbicide-resistant weeds result in significant economic losses for U.S. soybean growers, according to the United Soybean Board, which has awarded $500,000 to a multistate research project to develop new diagnostic tools for herbicide-resistant weeds in soybean production. The team includes scientists from Penn State.
Led by researchers at Michigan State University, the team aims to develop new diagnostic tools to detect herbicide-resistant weeds in soybeans. The award currently covers one year but can be extended for up to three years. As part of this initiative, scientists from Penn State will lead the development of rapid testing for known resistance mechanisms and will work to uncover new resistance mechanisms with the aim of developing rapid diagnostics.
The project, known as Herbicide Resistance Monitoring Network, aims to shorten the time between a farmer finding a weed in the field that they suspect is herbicide resistant to confirming whether it is resistant and doing something about it, explained Caio Brunharo, assistant professor of weed science in the College of Agricultural Sciences and lead researcher on the project at Penn State.
