Glyphosate, Glyphosate Resistant Crops and Plant Disease: Is There a Connection?. (1st October 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hammerschmidt, Raymond
• Is Part Of: Outlooks on pest management. Volume 24:Number 5(2013:Sep./Oct.)
• Page Start: 201
• Page End: 205
• Publication Date: 2013-10-01
• Subjects: Pesticides -- Periodicals; Pesticides -- Application -- Periodicals; 632.905
• DOI: 10.1564/v24_oct_04
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1743-1034

Abstract

Glyphosate (N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine) is the most widely used and successful herbicides. However, in spite of its success and adoption by the agricultural industry, concerns have been raised about whether the application of glyphosate increases disease in crop plants – including those that have been genetically modified to resist glyphosate. The impacts of herbicides on disease development are not new, and there are numerous reports on the effects of other herbicides either increasing or decreasing disease severity. However, none has received as much attention as glyphosate. For disease to develop in plants, three factors must be taken into account. These include a susceptible host, a pathogen and appropriate environmental conditions. Collectively, these three factors make up what is known as the disease triangle. Glyphosate and other herbicides have the potential to impact host plants and pathogens and result in more or even less disease development. In this paper, two components of the disease triangle, the host and the pathogen, will be used to discuss whether or not the use of glyphosate resistant (GR) crops alone or in combination with glyphosate increases disease severity.