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Accepted manuscript

Does exposure to PPO-inhibiting herbicides alter the male-to-female sex ratio of Palmer amaranth?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 March 2025

Mafia M. Rumpa
Affiliation:
Former Graduate Student, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois, USA
Sirwan Babaei
Affiliation:
Assistant Professor, Department of Crop Production and Genetics, University of Kurdistan, Kurdistan, IranVisiting Scientist, School of Agricultural Sciences, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois, USA
Ronald F. Krausz
Affiliation:
Former Research Station Manager, School of Agricultural Sciences, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois, USA
David J. Gibson
Affiliation:
Professor, School of Biological Sciences, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois, 62901-6509 USA
Eric J Miller
Affiliation:
Associate Scientist, School of Agricultural Sciences, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois, USA
Karla L. Gage*
Affiliation:
Associate Professor, School of Agricultural SciencesSchool of Biological Sciences, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois, USA.
*
Author for correspondence: Karla L. Gage, Associate Professor, School of Agricultural Sciences/School of Biological Sciences, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, 62901-6509, Illinois, USA, (E-mail: [email protected])
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Abstract

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Palmer amaranth, a competitive weed in cotton and soybeans, poses challenges due to its rapid growth, high fertility, and herbicide resistance. Effective management strategies targeting sex ratios could reduce seed production by female plants. Protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PPO-) inhibiting herbicides play a role in the evolving resistance of Amaranthus spp. in the Midwestern US. These herbicides may also affect the male-to-female ratio of Palmer amaranth. A two-year field experiment (2015 and 2016) was conducted in a soybean field in Collinsville, Illinois, evaluating various preemergence and postemergence PPO-inhibiting herbicide treatments. Untreated Palmer amaranth populations exhibited a bias towards females. Pre-emergence application of sulfentrazone and flumioxazin effectively reduced Palmer amaranth density (1.66 plants m-2) throughout the season, while post-emergence applications of fomesafen and lactofen provided limited control (27 and 31 plants m-2). Early-season mortality was high (96 %) among Palmer amaranth seedlings, especially with pyroxasulfone+fluthiacet-methyl treatment. Fomesafen increased female biomass (28.8 %) while reducing male biomass compared to non-treated control. In 2015, pyroxasulfone+fluthiacet-methyl and acetochlor altered the male-to-female sex ratio compared to the non-treated control, with pyroxasulfone+fluthiacet-methyl reducing the proportion of females (-0.11 M:F) and acetochlor slightly increasing the proportion of males (0.03 M:F), though not different from a 1:1 ratio. In 2016, pendimethalin and flumioxazin-2 resulted in a strong female-biased sex ratio, with an almost exclusively female population. In both years, the non-treated control plots (-0.58 and -0.55 M:F) maintained a naturally female-biased sex ratio, deviating significantly from a 1:1 ratio. These findings suggest that specific herbicide treatments can alter the sex ratio.. Understanding sex determination in Palmer amaranth holds promise for developing more effective control strategies in the future.

Type
Research Article
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Weed Science Society of America