Current status and agronomic aspects of herbicide resistance in Korea

Abstract

Weeds are a serious problem in crop production. Use of synthetic herbicides is rapidly increasing in weed management worldwide including Korea. Herbicide application reduces the time spent on weed control. However, the evolution of resistance to herbicides in weeds has become widespread as a natural response to selection pressure imposed by agricultural management activities. If an herbicide with the same mechanisms of action is used repeatedly and intensively, it can rapidly select for a weed biotype that shifts toward difficult-to-control becoming a more tolerant weed and lead to the evolution of herbicide-resistant weeds. Moreover, agricultural and biological factors have an important role in the development of herbicide-resistant weed populations. Mitigating the evolution of herbicide resistance in weeds relies on reducing selection through the diversification of weed control techniques. The resistance management of weeds in the future will strongly depend on intensive cropping systems. The current situation of intensive cropping systems with their heavy reliance on the efficacy of chemical weed control will not lead to significant containment of this problem. Therefore, management strategies need to overcome the further spread of herbicide resistance in weeds in Korean crop production. This review presents the current information on herbicide resistance in Korea and factors controlling the development of herbicide resistant weeds.