Role of absorption and translocation in the mechanism of glyphosate resistance in horseweed (Conyza canadensis)

Greenhouse and laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate mechanisms of glyphosate resistance in horseweed populations from Mississippi, Arkansas, Delaware, and Tennessee. A nondestructive leaf-dip bioassay was developed to confirm resistance and susceptibility in individual test plants. A single leaf was excised from each plant, and the petiole and bottom one-fourth of leaf was dipped in a 600 mg ae L−1 glyphosate solution for 2 d followed by visually estimating the injury on a scale of 0 to 10. Plants were classified as resistant (R) if the score was 2 to 3 and susceptible (S) if the score was 5 to 6. 14C-glyphosate solution was applied on the adaxial surface of a fully expanded leaf of the second whorl of four-whorl rosette plants. Plants were harvested 48 h after treatment and radioactivity was determined in treated leaf, other leaves, crown, and roots. Absorption of 14C-glyphosate was similar (47 to 54%) between R and S plants from within and among the four states, suggesting absorption is not involved in glyphosate resistance. The amount of radioactivity translocated from the treated leaf was reduced in R plants compared with S plants. The reduction in translocation of 14C-glyphosate ranged from 28% in Mississippi-R biotype to 48% in Delaware-R biotype compared with their respective S biotypes. Epicuticular wax mass ranged from 6 to 80 μg cm−2 among horseweed biotypes, with no differences between R and S biotypes within each state. Treating two leaves with glyphosate solution at the field use rate (0.84 kg ae ha−1) killed S plants but not R plants (38 to 58% control) regardless of state origin. These results suggest that a simple bioassay can be used to screen biotypes for suspected resistance and that reduced translocation of glyphosate plays a major role in glyphosate resistance in R biotypes of horseweed. Nomenclature: 14C-glyphosate; glyphosate; horseweed, Conyza canadensis (L.) Cronq.