Glyphosate- or Auxinic-Resistant Kochia and Russian Thistle Prairie Surveys
Term: 5 years, beginning in 2018
Status: Complete (Performance Story)
Funding Amount: $23,000
Lead Researcher(s): Dr. Julia Leeson (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon)
Funding Partners: Alberta Wheat Commission, Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers, Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association, Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission, Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, Western Grain Research Foundation
Project Description
The objective of this project is to determine the evolution or spread of glyphosate-resistant (GR) or auxinic-resistant kochia in Manitoba in 2018, Saskatchewan in 2019, and Alberta in 2021 since the 2012/2013 baseline surveys. In the 2012/2013 surveys, GR kochia was found in 5% of randomly-surveyed sites in Alberta and Saskatchewan (annually-cropped fields and non-crop areas such as oil well sites, railway rights-of-way, and roadside ditches), but only two sites in Manitoba (corn and soybean fields in the Red River Valley). The three surveys outlined herein follow the GR kochia and Russian thistle survey conducted in Alberta in 2017. Similarly, Russian thistle will be included in these planned surveys. Additionally, waterhemp and ragweed species will be surveyed in the Red River Valley of Manitoba. Kochia is the only GR weed documented previously in western Canada, but surveillance of these other weeds is being conducted because of reports of GR populations of these species in some northern U.S. states. The results of this project will inform producers and other stakeholders in the agri-food sector of the current incidence of GR or auxinic-resistant kochia and emerging GR weeds so that mitigation measures can be deployed efficiently and effectively.