Biotypes of Palmer Amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri) and Common Waterhemp (Amaranthus rudis) are Resistant to Imazethapyr and Thifensulfuron

Abstract

Seeds of suspected herbicide-resistant Palmer amaranth and common waterhemp were collected in Clay County and Douglas County, KS, respectively. An experiment was established in a greenhouse to determine if these species had developed resistance to imazethapyr and thifensulfuron. Imazethapyr was applied pre- (PRE) and postemergence (POST) at 1×, 2×, 4×, and 8× the suggested use rate (70 g/ha), and thifensulfuron was applied POST at 1×, 2×, 4×, and 8× the suggested use rate (4.5 g/ha). Both species had developed resistance to all rates of these herbicides. The occurrence of resistance at the Clay County site (Palmer amaranth) fit the typical pattern for the development of herbicide resistance, i.e., multiple applications of the same class of herbicide for several years. However, the Douglas County (common waterhemp) site had a limited history of use of ALS-inhibiting herbicides and did not follow typical models of resistance development.