Wild oats is the most likely next weed to develop glyphosate resistance, says a weed expert.
Hugh Beckie, weed scientist with Agriculture Canada, successfully predicted kochia as the first glyphosate resistant weed one year before it was discovered in a field in southern Alberta.
The same risk assessment model tells him wild oats will be next.
Kochia is the only glyphosate tolerant weed in Western Canada to date but the U.S. experience suggests others are sure to follow.
“Wild oats resistant to glyphosate would be a worst case scenario,” said Beckie in an interview following his presentation at the 2014 Canola Discovery Forum.
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“It’s really resistant to everything out there already. If you lose the efficacy of glyphosate you really restrict your herbicide options to control that weed.”
Glyphosate resistance is a serious threat to Western Canadian crop production because growers are so heavily reliant on the chemical. There was more glyphosate sold in Western Canada in 2012 than the next 12
Wild oats has a resistance risk assessment rating of 9.99 in the grassland region (brown and dark brown soil zones) and 7.83 in the parkland region (black and grey soil zones.)
It is followed by green foxtail with a 6.54 rating in the grassland and 4.09 rating in the parkland.
Cleavers are expected to be a close third in the parkland with a 4.05 rating.
Wild buckwheat is the fourth likeliest candidate in the parkland at 3.01 and the third likeliest in the grassland at 2.71.
