Genetic Variability for Herbicide Reaction in Plant Populations

Abstract

The level of genetic variation for tolerance to herbicides was quantified in populations of slender wild oat (Avena barbata Brott. # AVEBA), wild oat (Avena fatua L. # AVEFA), and godetia (Clarkia williamsonii Lewis & Lewis) that had not been previously exposed to herbicides. Seedlings of wild oat and godetia were treated with barban (4-chloro-2-butynl-m-chlorocarbanilate) and bromoxynil (3,5-dibromo-4-hydroxybenzonitrile), respectively. The plants were rated for phytotoxic effects following treatment. A one-way analysis of variance on arcsin-transformed phytotoxicity ratings showed significant amounts of inter- and intrapopulation variability for herbicide reaction. Furthermore, the amount of genetic variance for herbicide reaction is higher than expected on the basis of mutation alone, suggesting selection favoring genes conferring herbicide tolerance occurs in natural populations.