Developing Herbicide-Tolerant Crop Cultivars: Introduction

Abstract

In recent years considerable research in the private and public sectors has been directed toward introducing herbicide tolerance into normally susceptible crop species (9). Interest in developing herbicide-tolerant crop cultivars, clones, or hybrids (HTCs)3has been spurred by the reduction in the rate of discovery of new herbicidal compounds, the rising expense of developing new herbicides, and new tools of biotechnology that greatly increased our ability to develop HTC genotypes. Potential benefits of developing HTCs include: a) an increased margin of safety with which herbicides can be used with subsequent reduced crop losses due to herbicide injury, b) reduced risk of crop damage from residual herbicides from rotational crops, and c) introduction of new herbicides for use on normally susceptible crops. The last objective can be considered to be similar to breeding for resistance to diseases or insects. The most serious weed problems for a crop can be solved by developing crop tolerance to herbicides that control the weeds. This approach is particularly promising for minor crops for which new herbicide development is essentially lacking. However, the reluctance of herbicide manufacturers to register their products for minor crops may impede this approach. By developing tolerance to nontoxic, nonpolluting herbicides that are suitable for conservation tillage, the negative environmental effects of weed control can be reduced.