Maize damage has been observed from time to time in many parts of South Africa where registered herbicides were applied. Differential cultivar tolerance to certain herbicides was identified as an important factor in many cases where herbicide selectivity was inadequate. A study was done to investigate the existence of differential tolerance of maize genotypes to selected herbicides. Several maize genotypes were screened for tolerance to selected herbicides, both in the greenhouse and in the field. Maize genotypes demonstrated significant differences in their tolerance to all herbicides. Some genotypes were severely injured by certain herbicides while others were not affected at all by the same herbicide. This suggests that maize genotypes should be screened for tolerance to herbicides in order to reduce crop injury by using only appropriate ones for specific genotypes. Generally, hybrids were more tolerant to herbicides than inbreds, indicating that screening may be most necessary in seed production, where inbreds are used, than in commercial production where only hybrids are used. Tolerance of maize to herbicides was more variable to metazachlor than to other herbicides, and metazachlor also injured more genotypes than other herbicides. This was probably due to differences in herbicide mechanism of action. Shoot or root dry mass reduction of some of the maize genotypes occurred without visual injury symptoms, thus suggesting that visual injury may not reliably indicate susceptibility or tolerance to herbicides. The degree of correspondence of herbicide effects on maize in the greenhouse and the field was determined. Comparison of results from the greenhouse and the field showed that there is positive correlation between herbicide effects in the greenhouse and in the field. There was generally good correspondence of major parameters, such as shoot dry mass and injury symptoms, in the greenhouse and in the field. Similarly these parameters were positively correlated with the grain yield obtained from the field. It appears that shoot dry mass and visual injury symptoms could be good predictors of the yield. This indicates that reliable data could be generated through quicker screening at greenhouse level. A total of four herbicides, metazachlor, dimethenamid, acetochlor and the combination atrazine / metolachlor / terbuthylazine, had significant correlations while only two, flufenacet and acetochlor + atrazine/sulcotrione, had no significant correlations for major parameters with the yield. This indicates that the correlation of data was herbicide-dependent. The influence of temperature on maize tolerance to alachlor, metazachlor and metolachlor was investigated. Results showed that low temperatures reduce the tolerance of maize to these herbicides. This could mean that low temperature may reduce the selectivity of these herbicides. Fluctuating temperature conditions of 10°C at night and 35°C during the day, which are found in some maize producing areas, did not affect maize tolerance to the herbicides. The possibility of improving metazachlor tolerance in maize was also investigated. Evidence provided for possible gene effects on the tolerance of metazachlor indicates that maize tolerance to the herbicide could be improved by crossing tolerant parents. The results suggest that it may be possible to improve metazachlor tolerance by crossing appropriate parent lines with dominant genes for tolerance to metazachlor. Ultrastructural changes in the maize seedling root and shoot cells caused by metazachlor were investigated. In susceptible genotypes root cell nucleoli were found to be abnormally large, empty and more abundant than those in untreated control plants. In susceptible plants the chromatids appeared disorganised in cell nucleoli, and both the nuclear and plasma membranes showed signs of disintegrating. There were more and larger vacuoles in the herbicide-susceptible plants. Leaf cells from the susceptible plants had more empty vacuoles and more chloroplasts with generally disorganised content. The bundle sheath chloroplast membranes were dilated in susceptible plants, and the orientation of the grana was disrupted. In the herbicide-tolerant plants, the ultrastructure was not different from that of all the untreated plants. The established differential tolerance of maize to herbicides necessitates the screening of all genotypes to all registered herbicides in order to recommend specific herbicides for certain maize genotypes. Due to the large number of genotypes that would require screening, techniques that yield reliable data quickly have obvious merit. Pot experiments under controlled conditions, which could be selected to promote herbicide bioactivity, are likely to provide data with which the best possible predictions on the risk of herbicide damage in the field could be made. Based on this requirement, environmental factors that should be considered for greenhouse work are: soil with low adsorptive capacity, soil water content close to the field capacity level, and cool temperatures. When screening for herbicide tolerance, the use of herbicide rates in excess of the recommended rate could obviate the need for special environmental conditions, since all the aforementioned factors basically promote the accumulation of higher than usual amounts of herbicide at the site of action in the plant. Therefore, the use of at least a 2X-herbicide rate in screening experiments is advised. / Thesis (PhD (Plant Production: Weed Science))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Plant Production and Soil Science / unrestricted

Determining the basis of intraspecific herbicide tolerance was expected to be a useful way of revealing factors which are regulated by safeners in providing their protective effect. Differential tolerance to the chloroacetanilide herbicide metolachlor and the thiocarbamate herbicide EPTC was examined in 11 corn hybrids. Tolerance to one of these herbicides does not imply similar tolerance to the other. Detoxication of these herbicides in plants is mediated via conjugation with glutathione (GSH). GSH levels from 1.8 to 2.4 µmol/g fresh weight were determined for the eleven corn hybrids tested. There was no correlation between GSH content and herbicide tolerance. The monooxygenase inhibitor piperonyl butoxide (PBO) acted synergistically with EPTC on 8 of the tested corn hybrids. A Similar antagonism by the oxygen evolving compound calcium peroxide provided additional evidence for the importance of oxidative processes in EPTC tolerance which were not important in determining metolachlor tolerance. The more rapid absorption and greater accumulation of ¹⁴C-metolachlor by 'Northrup-King 9283' corn relative to 'Cargill 7567' corn at least partially explains the increased susceptibility of the former hybrid to metolachlor. The in vitro metabolism of ¹⁴C-metolachlor was similar for both hybrids. A lag in the expression of glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity during early seedling development of 'Northrup-King 9283' corn may be of additional significance in its limited tolerance to metolachlor. The safener benoxacor was effective in protecting 'Northrup-King 9283' and other susceptible corn hybrids from metolachlor injury. Benoxacor had no effect on metolachlor uptake or the rate of non-enzymatic conjugation of metolachlor. Seedlings of 'Cargill 7567' and 'Northrup-King 9283' treated with 1 µM benoxacor metabolized metolachlor to the GS-conjugate at a rate 1.7 times that of untreated seedlings. GST activity was stimulated by 35% by similar treatment. GST isozymes with metolachlor conjugating activity (GST-metolachlor activity) were found in the cytosol and microsomal fractions of corn extracts. At least two GST-metolachlor isozymes were separated by DEAE-Sepharose chromatography. The activity of both isozymes was increased by benoxacor treatment. It appears that benoxacor regulates metolachlor tolerance by inducing GST isozymes that consequently increase the rate of metolachlor detoxication. / Ph. D.

Plant form is a compromise between resource gathering, reproduction and the tolerance to physical demands of the abiotic and biotic environment. In an agricultural field in addition to the natural factors causing stress, humans also introduce physical and mechanical stresses, and chemical pesticides into the environment. Many of these factors are hazardous, since they represent stresses to which plants are unable to develop defense mechanisms. However, weeds have persisted in the agricultural environment despite the efforts to eradicate them. They have adapted to environmental changes such as crop rotation and have developed tolerance to stressors like pesticides in very short periods of times (less than 10 years), much less time than normally expected for evolutionary responses to occur. Perhaps a key to why weeds persist in stress-dominated habitats is the way they compromise between yield and survival. The mechanisms that explain which process is relevant in the control of seed production or seedling growth relate to the ecophysiology of the individual plants. However, trade-offs between plants physiological functions will have implications at both population and community levels. Climate change, air pollution and water scarcity are examples of environmental stresses that particularly affect agriculture. Herbicides are a major technological tool for agriculture and are responsible, at least in part, for significant increases in crop production during the last quarter of the century. The research presented in this dissertation was developed to understand the extent that individual responses to multiple environmental stresses can be extrapolated to population-level responses in an annual weed species. The specific objectives were to assess (1) the impact of three anthropogenic stresses (herbicide, UVB light and ozone) and their interactions on individual Italian ryegrass ontogeny and reproduction and (2) the potential evolutionary effect of these stresses and combinations on changes in population size and structure over time. Plants were capable of growth and reproductive compensation under the studied stresses. Stress factors with similar biochemical mechanisms had different effects at the individual plant and population levels of organization. Compensation occurred at all levels of organization: as individuals modifying growth and allocation to different organs and as populations modifying birth, and death rates and density dependent responses. The ability to compensate sometimes decreased with the number of stress factors (e.g. herbicide and UVB). In other cases, compensation ability increased with the number of stress factors (e.g. ozone and herbicide). / Graduation date: 2004

CAPES / Saflufenacil é um novo herbicida que está sendo introduzido comercialmente no Brasil. Muitos fatores são necessários para que um herbicida tenha sucesso comercial, dentre eles destaca-se a seletividade para culturas de interesse, eficácia sobre espécies daninhas e segurança no ambiente. Dois experimentos foram conduzidos a campo e quatro em casa-de-vegetação. No primeiro estudo foram testados sete períodos de semeadura de feijão após a aplicação do herbicida (0, 5, 10, 15, 25, 35 e 50 DAA), na ausência e presença de herbicida saflufenacil (0 e 29,4 g i.a. ha-1). No segundo estudo, duas concentrações de saflufenacil (0; 14,7 e 29,4 g i.a. ha-1) foram testadas em dez cultivares de feijão. Para ambos os testes, foram avaliados o estande, estatura de plantas e componentes de rendimento. O primeiro bioensaio foi realizado em esquema triifatorial 8 x 5 x 4 , sendo o primeiro fator as concentrações de saflufenacil (0; 2,45; 4,9; 9,8; 14,7; 19,6; 24,5 e 29,4 g i.a. ha-1), o segundo as espécies bioindicadoras pepino, melancia, cabotiá, abobrinha e beterraba. Realizaram-se avaliações de estande e estatura de planta, massas das partes aéreas verde (MPAV) e seca (MPAS) e o terceiro fator períodos de avaliação (5, 10, 15 e 20 DAS). O segundo e terceiro bioensaios foram realizados simultaneamente, sendo os tratamentos constituídos pelas épocas de coleta do solo após a aplicação de saflufenacil (29,4 g i.a. ha-1) (0, 5, 10, 15, 25, 35, 50 e 100 dias após aplicação). Em um deles foi utilizado o pepino e no outro a beterraba como bioindicadores da presença de saflufenacil no solo. Foram determinadas as mesmas variáveis do primeiro bioensaio. Os tratamentos foram saflufenacil (0; 0,35; 0,7; 1,4; 2,1 e 2,8 g i.a. ha-1) aplicado de forma isolada ou associada ao paraquat (0, 1 e 3 g ha-1), metribuzin (0; 38,4 e 105,6 g i.a. ha-1) e clomazone (0, 288 e 504 g i.a. ha-1). Foram realizadas determinações de controle visual, MPAV e MPAS. A aplicação de saflufenacil em pré-emergência requer intervalo entre 10 e 25 dias após sua aplicação para ser realizada a semeadura da cultivar de feijão IPR-Tiziu. A cultivar Talismã apresentou maior tolerância a saflufenacil, enquanto a cultivar Jalo Precoce apresentou maior sensibilidade ao herbicida. As espécies que apresentaram maior sensibilidade ao saflufenacil foram o pepino e a beterraba. A persistência do saflufenacil em Latossolo Vermelho distroférrico, determinada por bioensaio com pepino e beterraba, situou-se entre 25 e 35 dias após a aplicação do herbicida. Para a variável controle de A. tenella, houve sinergismo para as associações das maiores doses de saflufenacil com paraquat e metribuzin, mas não com clomazone. Para a MPAS, todas as associações foram sinérgicas, indepententemente do herbicida ou da dose empregada. / Saflufenacil is a new herbicide which is being deployed commercially in Brazil. Many factors are necessary toward successful of commercially herbicide, among them stands out the selectivity for interests crops, the effectiveness under weed species and the environment safety. In the first one were experienced seven periods of sowing bean after saflufenacil application (0, 5, 10, 15, 25, 35 e 50 AHA) in the absence and presence of saflufenacil herbicide (0 e 29,4 g a.i. ha-1). In the second one two saflufenacil concentrations (0; 14,7 e 29,4 g a.i. ha-1) were tested into ten bean cultivars. For both tests were determined the stand, plant high, yield and yield components. The first bioassay was carried out in a completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications in a factorial design 8 x 5 x 4, where the first factor is saflufenacil concentrations (0, 2.45, 4.9, 9.8, 14.7, 19.6, 24, 5 and 29.4 g ai ha-1), the second the bioindicators cucumber, watermelon, cabotiá, summer squash and beets the third factor periods (5, 10, 15 and 20 DAS). Evaluations were performed booth and plant height, mass of fresh (MPAV) and dry (MPAS) shoots. The second and third bioassays were conducted simultaneously, and the treatments consisted of soil sampling times after saflufenacil spraying (29.4 g ai ha-1) (0, 5, 10, 15, 25, 35 , 50 and 100 days). In one bioassay we used cucumber and in the second we used beet as biomarkers for the presence of saflufenacil the soil. The same variables were determined from the first bioassay. Treatments were saflufenacil (0, 0.35, 0.7, 1.4, 2.1 and 2.8 g ai ha-1) applied alone or combined with paraquat (0, 1 and 3 g ai ha-1 ), metribuzin (0, 38.4 and 105.6 g ai ha-1) and clomazone (0, 288 and 504 g ai ha-1). The evaluated variables were visual control, and MPAV MPAS. The application of pre-emergence saflufenacil requires between 10 and 25 days after application to be performed seeding bean cultivar IPR-Tiziu. The BRS Talismã cultivar showed higher tolerance to saflufenacil, while the cultivar Jalo Precoce showed greater sensitivity to the herbicide. The species with the highest sensitivity to saflufenacil were cucumber and beet. The persistence of saflufenacil in Latossolo Vermelho distroférrico determined by bioassay with cucumber and beets, was between 25 and 35 days after herbicide application. For the A. tenella control, there was synergism for combinations saflufenacil with higher doses of paraquat and metribuzin, but not with clomazone. For MPAV and MPAS, all associations were synergistic, independently of herbicide or dose that was used.