After years of being an "also-ran" topic at crop production meetings, herbicide-resistant weeds take on a high profile this week at a three-day conference solely devoted to this growing threat facing farmers and food production.
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| Bayer's Bill Buckner sees herbicide resistance as a threat to the very viability of weed control by herbicides. |
The event began Jan. 19 in Miami, Fla. Organized by Bayer CropScience, it is billed as the first Pan American Weed Resistance Conference.
In opening the meeting, Bill Buckner, Bayer's head of business operations for North America, didn't mince words. He said the emergence of resistant weeds threatens the very viability of weed control by herbicides.
Several other speakers on the first day emphasized the critical role of herbicides in modern crop production, and the likely financial fallout for farmers and consumers if these tools become unavailable due to resistance. In fact, they described numerous crop/weed situations where this is already happening.
Just under 300 participants from 18 different countries in North and South America are attending the conference; many are senior research and extension specialists.
They're taking in a broad range of presentations aimed at clarifying the severity of herbicide resistance issues throughout the Americas, and examining how resistant weeds develop and spread.
Speakers from overseas regions, such as Europe and Australia, will also share their experiences and talk about their searches for practical solutions.