Canada places third on the list of countries with the highest number of herbicide resistant weeds.
North America has more resistant weeds than other continent.
Ian Heap, in charge of an international survey of herbicide resistant weeds, said herbicide resistance is having a major economic impact in several regions of the world.
Herbicide resistant weeds have been found in 80 countries, which Heap said likely costs producers billions of dollars every year.
The United States has the highest number, while Australia has the second highest count.
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“Some of the worst weeds in the world, ryegrass, pig weeds, echinochloa species, and we see herbicide resistance primarily in the main crops wheat, rice, soybean, corn, and to some extent cotton,” Heap said at the Herbicide Resistant Summit in Saskatoon.
Heap, who is executive director of The International Survey of Herbicide Resistant Weeds, said practices in Canada have been gradually building up herbicide resistant weeds for a long time.
“Canada is a large country. It’s used a lot of herbicides for a long time and that’s why there are many herbicide resistant weeds here that present a big economic problem for growers.”
