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This article originally appeared on the Bulletin.

Glyphosate and PPO inhibitor Summary: 593 field samples representing approximately 2,000 waterhemp or palmer amaranth plants were tested for herbicide resistance at the University of Illinois Plant Clinic in the 2016 season. The Plant Clinic started offering herbicide resistance testing of waterhemp for resistance to two groups of herbicides (glyphosate and PPO inhibitors) in 2015. We added palmer amaranth testing in 2016. Almost twice as many whole fields were tested 2016 compared to last year, 593 vs. 338. The tests use qPCR protocols to determine if the most common site of action for resistance to these two groups of herbicide is present in the plants.

Samples from 10 states across the Midwest were submitted in 2016. The following chart details the number of field samples from each state, along with the number of fields that were positive for glyphosate resistance and PPO inhibitor resistance. Fields with plants that are positive for both glyphosate and PPO inhibitor resistance are of particular concern due to the limited possibilities for control of these weeds.

2016 University of Illinois Plant Clinic Herbicide resistance testing results.
State No. of Field samples No. of Glyphosate resistant fields No. of PPO Inhibitor resistant fields No. of Fields Positive for both Glyphosate and PPO Inhibitor resistance % of Fields Positive for both Glyphosate and PPO Inhibitor resistance

2016 University of Illinois Plant Clinic Herbicide resistance testing results.

In Illinois, we received samples from 52 counties that had at least one sampled field that had waterhemp or palmer amaranth plants that tested resistant to both glyphosate and PPO inhibitors.

Palmer amaranth issues: Until the 2016 season, palmer amaranth in Illinois was not known to be resistant to PPO inhibitors. However, several samples from southwestern Illinois were confirmed to be PPO inhibitor resistant (3 from Madison, and 1 from St. Clair counties) in our testing.

Due to difficulties in positively identifying related amaranth species, and concern regarding possible contamination of seed with amaranth weed seeds including palmer amaranth, the Plant Clinic is now offering a molecular identification service to positively identify palmer amaranth. This protocol was adapted and tested in fall of 2016, and will be offered to the public starting in 2017. Find our sample forms for this testing on the Plant Clinic website.