Image # 2678
A crop duster sprays herbiicides over field of soybeans Herbicides have become an addiction in Amercian agriculture and this inevitably leads to the evolution of resistance. In Idaho nine biotypes in a total of six species have have evolved resistance to herbicides. Prickly lettuce was the first weed to develop resistance, but the list includes kolchia, Russian thistle wild oat, and mayweed chamomile. Scientists have estimated that there are 1,940 sites and more than 181,600 acres that have become infested with herbicide resistant weeds in Idaho. Fallow fields in the background are not the target for the spraying but did get significant chemical doses from this spray run. The recent introduction of Monsanto's Roundup Ready Soybeans has led to an 11.4% increase in the use of glyphosate - the active pesticide in Roundup.
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