BiotechMashup

The controversy surrounding the unintended effects of herbicide and pesticide use has intensified as researchers have identified that atrazine, a heavily-used herbicide, alters the sexual development in frogs.

(Washington University in St. Louis) A team of scientists from Washington University in St. Louis and Monsanto, a St. Louis-based company that makes the glyphosate-based Roundup herbicides, were able to follow molecules of the herbicide as they entered a resistant weed and to discover exactly how the plant disarms it. In a second paper they describe a herbicide application technique that can be used to outfox the resistance mechanism they had discovered.

Scientists have found that herbicide volatilization consistently resulted in herbicide losses that exceed losses from field runoff.

Researchers have discovered a fine-tuning mechanism involved in plant root growth that has them questioning whether a popular herbicide may have unintended consequences, causing some plants to need more water or nutrients.

A team of scientists was able to follow molecules of the glyphosate-based Roundup herbicides as they entered a resistant weed and to discover exactly how the plant disarms it. In a new paper, they describe a herbicide application technique that can be used to outfox the resistance mechanism they had discovered.

A new study shows that male rats prenatally exposed to low doses of atrazine, a widely used herbicide, are more likely to develop prostate inflammation and to go through puberty later than non-exposed animals. The research adds to a growing body of literature on atrazine, an herbicide predominantly used to control weeds and grasses in crops such as corn and sugar cane. Atrazine and its byproducts are known to be relatively persistent in the environment, potentially finding their way into water supplies.

(University of Missouri-Columbia) Researchers with Dow AgroSciences and the University of Missouri report on two bacterial enzymes that, when transformed into corn and soybeans, provide robust resistance to the herbicide 2,4-D. The discovery may soon provide Missouri corn and soybean growers a solution to the growing problem of herbicide-resistant weeds.

(Purdue University) Purdue University researchers have discovered a fine-tuning mechanism involved in plant root growth that has them questioning whether a popular herbicide may have unintended consequences, causing some plants to need more water or nutrients.

A new study finds that compost filters socks can reduce soil erosion from croplands and reduce the amount of herbicide in runoff.