Alphagalileo > Item Display
alphagalileo.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from alphagalileo.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Resistance encourages new research
grandrapidsmn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from grandrapidsmn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Scientists are inching closer to finding genes that could control two of the nation s most aggressive weeds, Palmer amaranth and waterhemp.
Finding the right genes, researchers say, could enable new methods of genetic control for the weeds, which in many places have developed herbicide resistance. This research â it s exciting. I m excited. It could be huge for agriculture. But it s still in its infancy. We have a long way to go before we get to fruition, said Pat Tranel, lead researcher and associate head of the University of Illinois Department of Crop Sciences.
The Weed Science Society of America ranks Palmar amaranth, which can grow 1 to 3 inches a day and reach 6 to 10 feet tall at maturity, as the most troublesome weed in the U.S. A single plant can produce 200,000 seeds. USDA reports show Palmer amaranth, and waterhemp, another pigweed species, have had devastating economic impacts on farms.