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Herbicide resistance is tiresome

Herbicide resistance is tiresome, for me as an Extension Turf Specialist, and for the end user. Most turf professionals are keenly aware of the risk herbicide resistance poses – decreased effectiveness and even altogether loss of an entire group of herbicides, manual weed control, and inflated maintenance costs.

See Also: MSU Turfgrass Management

Academics like myself have done our best to convince you of the following ways to prevent herbicide resistance.

  • Rotating modes of action
  • Emphasizing the importance of adequate preemergence weed control
  • Following up with mechanical or non-selective weed control measures to control escapes

 Herbicide Resistance Screening

But few understand how we actually go about confirming resistance in a lab or greenhouse. Here’s a short video about a recent case we’ve confirmed in Mississippi.

And here’s our MSUcares.com publication Preventing and Managing Herbicide-Resistant Weeds in Turfgrass. It provides details and insight into how to effectively prevent and manage herbicide resistance.