inexpensive and effective, dicamba is the herbicide of choice to combat broadleaf weeds when raising grassy crops such as corn and wheat. Now, a research team at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln (UNL), has used genetic engineering to open the door to dicamba use in broadleaf crops as well (Science 2007,316,1185).
"Some of the biggest weed problems have to do with controlling broadleaf weeds in broadleaf crops like soybean, cotton, canola, and certain vegetable crops," says UNL researcher Donald P. Weeks.
After hearing from farmers that adding dicamba resistance to certain crops would be useful, Weeks and collaborators went to work. Soil offered a starting point.
"Dicamba is not persistent in soils," Weeks says. "It"s rapidly degraded by microorganisms, so generally, dicamba cannot be detected one to three months after application." Scientists already knew that the bacterium Pseudomonas maltophilia (strain DI-6) degrades dicamba to C02, H20
"Some of the biggest weed problems have to do with controlling broadleaf weeds in broadleaf crops like soybean, cotton, canola, and certain vegetable crops," says UNL researcher Donald P. Weeks.
After hearing from farmers that adding dicamba resistance to certain crops would be useful, Weeks and collaborators went to work. Soil offered a starting point.
"Dicamba is not persistent in soils," Weeks says. "It"s rapidly degraded by microorganisms, so generally, dicamba cannot be detected one to three months after application." Scientists already knew that the bacterium Pseudomonas maltophilia (strain DI-6) degrades dicamba to C02, H20
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