Long-term effects of 2,4-D application on plants. II. Herbicide avoidance by Chenopodium album and Thlaspi arvense

Abstract

Research plots in a wheat–wheat–fallow rotation at Indian Head, Sask., were sprayed annually with 2,4-dichlorophenoxy-acetic acid (2,4-D) for 36 consecutive years. Two species susceptible to 2,4-D, Chenopodium album L. and Thlaspi arvense L., were dominant in these plots. From 1981 to 1983, C. album and T. arvense seedlings that emerged during four periods of the growing season were marked and their mortality, seed production, and size recorded. From these data and other studies, 10 ways in which C. album and T. arvense managed to survive herbicide application were identified. These are intermittent germination, herbicide tolerance, small size of late-emerging seedlings, short life cycle, hardiness, failure of control practices, long-term dormancy, seed dispersal, viability of immature seeds, and winter annual life cycle of T. arvense.