Use of Herbicide Tolerant Crops as Part of an Integrated Weed Management Program

Integrated weed management (IWM) advocates the use of a combination of preventive, cultural, mechanical, and chemical tools to keep weed pressure below threshold levels that reduce yields and profits. Herbicide tolerant crops (HTCs) represent a relatively new weed control technology that can be used in an integrated weed management program. These crops, which enhance weed control options and greatly expand market demand for some herbicides, have been readily adopted by farmers in the United States and Canada. They provide many benefits to producers and to the companies that own the intellectual property rights to this technology. However, HTCs should be considered as one component of an integrated weed management approach that uses other management tools to ensure the long-term benefits of a profitable and environmentally sound weed management program. Widespread use and over-reliance on herbicide tolerant crops, without the benefit of an integrated weed management program, can result in:


1) the development of herbicide tolerant weeds,
2) a shift to weed species or biotypes that are more tolerant of the herbicide in question, and
3) species that emerge after a postemergence-type herbicide has been applied.
This NebGuide provides general guidelines for using herbicide tolerant crops in an integrated weed management program to ensure the long-term viability and profitability of this new technology as well as the protection of natural resources.