Tiafenacil is registered in the United States for use in annual crops such as corn and soybean, but not on orchard crops. Field studies were conducted to determine orchard crop safety and efficacy of tiafenacil on important California orchard weeds. To evaluate crop safety, tiafenacil was applied at 74, 148, and 222 g ai ha−1 alone and with 38 g ai ha−1 of tolpyralate three times per year at the base of almond, pistachio, prune, and walnut trees. The first treatment was applied 2 mo after the trees had been transplanted. In all four tree crop experiments, treatments were applied once in May 2020, then three times again during the winter of 2021 and 2022 at 21-d treatment intervals. There were no visual foliar injury symptoms or treatment-related effects on tree trunk diameter change even at the highest tested rate of tiafenacil applied seven times over three growing seasons. In a separate study of weed control, in most instances, tiafenacil applied at 12 g ai ha−1 performed similarly to that of tiafenacil plus glufosinate. Control of glyphosate-resistant hairy fleabane with tiafenacil applied alone at 25 g ai ha−1 was 65% by 14 d after treatment. Tiafenacil applied at 50 g ai ha−1 to hairy fleabane performed similarly to glufosinate plus glyphosate. In a greenhouse study, tiafenacil applied at 12 g ha−1 provided 95% to 100% control of barnyardgrass and junglerice, and there was no significant difference between tiafenacil applied alone or with glufosinate. Saflufenacil applied alone or in a mixture with glufosinate was not as effective as the tiafenacil treatments for grass weed control. Based on experiments conducted over three growing seasons in four tree fruit and tree nut crops, tiafenacil crop safety appeared to be acceptable even at up to 2- or 3-fold the expected use rate.

The Conyza genus includes nearly 150 species, comprising closely related weedy species. Proper identification of Conyza spp. is essential to develop effective strategies for their management. The overlap of traits, species varieties, and the putative occurrence of hybridization hampers the identification of Conyza spp. and its management in agricultural and natural environments. Herein, we assessed five DNA barcodes and 32 morphological traits to classify Conyza spp. and survey their dispersion in soybean fields [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] in Brazil in 2019, 2020, and 2021. The Conyza accessions included two species, hairy fleabane [Conyza bonariensis (L.) Cronquist) and Sumatran fleabane [Conyza sumatrensis (Retz.) E. Walker], and each species comprised two varieties. The ITS and rps16-trnQ gene regions showed the ability to distinguish between the two Conyza species, while the matK, rbcL, and trnF-trnF gene regions were not polymorphic. Out of 32 morphological traits, phyllary color, involucre shape, capitulescence type, and inflorescence type were the most polymorphic and even reliable for taxonomic purposes. The combination of ITS or ITS+rps16-trnQ regions and the four morphological markers was able to discriminate 91% of the plants, except those of C. bonariensis var. angustifolia. These results support the taxonomic resolution between C. bonariensis and C. sumatrensis and are useful for other Conyza spp. and other closely related weedy species worldwide. Conyza sumatrensis was detected in 94% of soybean fields across macroregions and seasons in Brazil, while C. bonariensis was sparsely dispersed, mainly in the southern macroregion (MRS 1).

Hairy fleabane and horseweed are pervasive weed species in agriculture. Glyphosate-resistant (GR) and glyphosate/paraquat–resistant (GPR) biotypes challenge current management strategies. These GR and GPR biotypes have non–target site resistance, which can confer resistance to herbicides with different sites of action (SOAs). This study’s objective was to characterize the response of GR, GPR, and glyphosate/paraquat–susceptible (GPS) biotypes of both weed species to herbicides with a different SOA. Whole-plant dose–response bioassays indicated a similar response among tested biotypes of both weed species to rimsulfuron, dicamba, hexazinone, glufosinate, flumioxazin, saflufenacil, or mesotrione. The hairy fleabane GR and GPR biotypes were 2.7- and 2.9-fold resistant to 2,4-D relative to the GPS biotype (GR50 766.7 g ai ha–1), confirming 2,4-D resistance in hairy fleabane for the first time in California. The GR and GPR biotypes were not cross-resistant to dicamba. No differences in response to 2,4-D were observed among horseweed biotypes with a GR50 ranging from 150.2 to 277.4 g ai ha–1. The GPR biotypes of both species were cross-resistant to diquat, with a 44.0-fold resistance in hairy fleabane (GR50 863.7 g ai ha–1) and 15.6-fold resistance in horseweed (GR50 563.1 g ai ha–1). The confirmation of multiple resistances to glyphosate, paraquat, and 2,4-D in hairy fleabane curtails herbicide SOA alternatives and jeopardizes resistance management strategies based on herbicide rotation and tank mixtures, underscoring the critical need for nonchemical weed control alternatives.

Native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was used to identify polymorphisms in α- and β-esterases loci and electrophoresis in starch gel to identify polymorphism in malate dehydrogenase (MDH; EC 1.1.1.37) and acid phosphatase (ACP; EC 3.1.3.2) isozymes loci in leaf tissues from samples of horseweed and hairy fleabane populations to determine genetic diversity and population structure. Similar or differential genetic divergence between the two species may guide specific use of herbicides. For samples of plants with high genetic similarity it is possible to adopt similar mechanisms and processes for their control. The proportion of polymorphic loci was 57.14, 50.0, and 53.6%, in samples of horseweed and hairy fleabane, for EST, MDH, and ACP isozymes, respectively. A comparison of the diversity parameters in the two species showed that the number of alleles is similar in the horseweed and hairy fleabane plants. The estimated heterozygosity in horseweed and hairy fleabane was also very close. A relatively low level of population differentiation was detected between horseweed and hairy fleabane (FST = 0.0199), which suggests a substantial genetic exchange among the two species. Accordingly, estimate of gene flow was high (Nm = 12.3172) for the alleles of the loci Est, Mdh, and Acp. The Nei's identity (I) values also was high (I = 0.9561) indicating very high similarity between the two Conyza species. AMOVA showed higher genetic variation within (95%) than among (5%) the two samples. The low genetic structure and high value of genetic identity was an important indication that alleles are exchanged between horseweed and hairy fleabane populations, and provides additional evidence of occurrence of outcrossing between populations or dispersion of samples of one for other site.

Hairy fleabane is an important weed in orchards and vineyards of California. Populations of glyphosate-resistant (GR) and glyphosate-paraquat-resistant (GPR) hairy fleabane have been documented in California but very little information is available on the efficacy of other POST herbicides on these populations. Greenhouse and field experiments were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of several POST herbicides registered in almond orchards on GPR, GR, and glyphosate/paraquat-susceptible (GPS) hairy fleabane plants. Plants were treated at the 8- to 12-leaf stage in greenhouse experiments, and at the bolting to flowering stage in field experiments. A sequential application of glyphosate (1,100 g ae ha−1) followed by paraquat (500 g ai ha−1) 14 d later did not control the GPR plants in any of the studies, but was effective in controlling the GR and GPS plants. Glufosinate at 1,050 g ai ha−1 or saflufenacil at 48.8 g ai ha−1 resulted in 90% or greater control of all populations in all studies, whereas glyphosate (1,100 g ae ha−1) + 2,4-D (1,090 g ae ha−1) resulted in inconsistent control (58 to 100%). The GPR population was not resistant to other common POST herbicide modes of action used in California tree nut orchards, and glufosinate and saflufenacil can provide growers effective management options for hairy fleabane in these crops.