Dr. Carol Mallory-Smith of the University of Oregon recently spoke for a live Web Seminar about resistance management, hosted by Syngenta. She stated that many growers do not want a more expensive or complicated system, so they result in managing resistance reactively rather than proactively managing it.  Mallory-Smith explained that few options for crop rotation lead to few options for alternating herbicide modes of action, making fighting resistance difficult for cereals growers.  No-till systems add to the problem by removing one measure for control and increasing herbicide dependency.

However, taking preventative measures can save both time and money in the long-run. For example, by being proactive in managing resistance, it is more likely that resistance in weeds will be spotted before the weeds go to seed, catching the problem before it spreads too far.  Syngenta offers more preventative tips ­here.

Do you think it is worth your time to take preventative measures against weed resistance? What practices are you currently employing?