Glyphosate is a cheap herbicide that has been used to control a wide range of weeds (4–6 times/year) in citrus groves of the Gulf of Mexico; however, its excessive use has selected for glyphosate-resistant weeds. We evaluated the efficacy and economic viability of 13 herbicide treatments (glyphosate combined with PRE- and/or POST-emergence herbicides and other alternative treatments), applied in tank-mixture or sequence, to control glyphosate-resistant weeds in two Persian lime groves (referred to as SM-I and SM-II) of the municipality of Acateno, Puebla, during two years (2014 and 2015). The SM-I and SM-II fields had 243 and 346 weeds/m², respectively, composed mainly of Bidens pilosa and Leptochloa virgata. Echinochloa colona was also frequent in SM-II. The glyphosate alone treatments (1080, 1440, or 1800 g ae ha⁻¹) presented control levels of the total weed population ranging from 64% to 85% at 15, 30, and 45 d after treatment (DAT) in both fields. Mixtures of glyphosate with grass herbicides such as fluazifop-p-butyl, sethoxydim, and clethodim efficiently controlled E. colona and L. virgata, but favored the regrowth of B. pilosa. The sequential applications of glyphosate + (bromacil + diuron) and glufosinate + oxyfluorfen controlled more than 85% the total weed community for more than 75 days. However, these treatments were between 360% and 390% more expensive (1.79 and 1.89 $/day ha⁻¹ of satisfactory weed control, respectively), compared to the representative treatment (glyphosate 1080 g ae ha⁻¹ = USD $29.0 ha⁻¹). In practical and economic terms, glufosinate alone was the best treatment controlling glyphosate resistant weeds maintaining control levels >80% for at least 60 DAT ($1.35/day ha⁻¹). The rest of the treatments, applied in tank-mix or in sequence with glyphosate, had similar or lower control levels (~70%) than glyphosate at 1080 g ae ha⁻¹. The adoption of glufosiante alone, glufosinate + oxyfluorfen or glyphosate + (bromacil + diuron) must consider the cost of satisfactory weed control per day, the period of weed control, as well as other factors associated with production costs to obtain an integrated weed management in the short and long term.

Herbicides that inhibit acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase (ACCase) are commonly used in Mexico to control weedy grasses such as little seed canarygrass (Phalaris minor). These herbicides are classified into three major families (ariloxyphenoxypropionates (APP), cyclohexanodiones (CHD), and, recently, phenylpyrazolines (PPZ)). In this work, the resistance to ACCase (APP, CHD, and PPZ) inhibiting herbicides was studied in a biotype of Phalaris minor (P. minor) from Mexico, by carrying out bioassays at the whole-plant level and investigating the mechanism behind this resistance. Dose-response and ACCase in vitro activity assays showed cross-resistance to all ACCase herbicides used. There was no difference in the absorption, translocation, and metabolism of the ¹⁴C-diclofop-methyl between the R and S biotypes. The PCR generated CT domain fragments of ACCase from the R biotype and an S reference were sequenced and compared. The Ile-1781-Leu and Asp-2078-Gly point mutations were identified. These mutations could explain the loss of affinity for ACCase by the ACCase-inhibing herbicides. This is the first report showing that this substitution confers resistance to APP, CHD, and PPZ herbicides in P. minor from Mexico. The mutations have been described previously only in a few cases; however, this is the first study reporting on a pattern of cross-resistance with these mutations in P. minor. The findings could be useful for better management of resistant biotypes carrying similar mutations.

Sterile wild oat (Avena sterilis L.) is an autogamous grass established in warm climate regions. This species has been used as a cover crop in Mediterranean perennial crops during the spring period prior to initiating competition with the main crop for water and nutrients. However, such cover crops need to be controlled (by glyphosate or tillage) before the beginning of summer period (due to the possibility of intense drought stress). In 2011, the olive grove farmers of southern Spain expressed dissatisfaction because of the ineffective control with glyphosate on A. sterilis. Experiments were conducted to determine whether the continued use of glyphosate over a 5 year period had selected a new resistant or tolerant species. The GR50 values obtained for A. sterilis were 297.12 and 245.23 g ae ha-1 for exposed (E) and un-exposed (UE) glyphosate accessions, respectively. The spray retention and shikimic acid accumulation exhibited a non-significant difference between the two accessions. The results of 14C- glyphosate absorption was the same in the two accessions (E and UE), while the translocation from the treated leaf to the rest of the shoots and roots was similar in A. sterilis accessions. Glyphosate metabolism to aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) and glyoxylate was similar in both accessions, but increased after treatment with glyphosate, indicating that metabolism plays an important role in tolerance. Both A. sterilis accessions, present similarity in the 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) activity enzyme with different glyphosate concentrations and without glyphosate, confirming that both accessions present the same genomic characteristics. The above-mentioned results indicate that innate tolerance to glyphosate in A. sterilis is probably and partly due to reduced herbicide absorption and translocation and metabolism compared to the susceptibility of other grasses weeds like Chloris inflata, Eleusine indica and Lolium rigidum.