Weed Management Update 2003: Issues, Changes and Considerations

Major changes in weed management during the last 5 years have resulted in a number of new considerations and emerging issues for the Midwest. Notably, the change in herbicidal weed control that emphasized the acetolactate synthase (ALS) inhibitor herbicides to weed control based primarily on genetically modified (GM) crops and glyphosate resulted in a number of considerations. These issues focus on the cost of weed control, the simplicity of glyphosate based systems, changes in weed populations, herbicide resistance in weed populations, and the implications of highly focused selection pressures on agroecosystems.