Controlling Dinitroaniline-Resistant Goosegrass (Eleusine indica) in Turfgrass

Prodiamine is a dinitroaniline herbicide labeled for PRE control of goosegrass in warm- and cool-season turfgrass. In 2013, several golf course roughs in Maryville, TN reported poor goosegrass control (< 20%) following prodiamine treatment at 1,120 g ai ha-1. We harvested suspected prodiamine-resistant (PR) and prodiamine-susceptible (S) goosegrass phenotypes from the field and exposed them to a range of increasing prodiamine concentrations in hydroponic culture. Exposure to prodiamine at 0.001mM reduced root growth of the S phenotype to 11% of the non-treated check. By comparison, exposure to 0.001mM prodiamine had minimal effect on the PR phenotype, as root growth was 94% of the non-treated check. Molecular analyses revealed that PR plants contained a threonine (Thr) to isoleucine (Ile) substitution at position 239 on the α-tubulin 1 (TUA1) protein. The substitution, found in all PR plants, is the mechanism of prodiamine resistance in this phenotype. In field studies, topramezone controlled PR goosegrass 72% to 89% by 50 d after treatment (DAT) compared to only 22% to 23% for foramsulfuron. Topramezone treatment injured bermudagrass 34% to 60% from 7 to 14 DAT; however, injury was ≤6% 28 DAT and 0% by the end of the study. Our results indicate that POST applications of topramezone can control dinitroaniline-resistant goosegrass. In addition, we established an easy-to-use genotyping assay to quickly screen goosegrass phenotypes for a target-site mutation (Thr-239-Ile) on TUA1 associated with resistance to dinitroaniline herbicides such as prodiamine. Future research should work to expand this assay for use with other weed species and herbicidal modes of action. Nomenclature: Foramsulfuron; prodiamine; topramezone; goosegrass, Eleusine indica L. Gaertn.; bermudagrass, Cynodon dactylon L. Pers.