Biology aspects of Digitaria insularis resistant to glyphosate and implications for its control

Abstract

Sourgrass (Digitaria insularis) is a perennial weed which has the ability to germinate, grow and develop during the entire year under Brazilian weather conditions. Once established with the formation of rhizomes, the difficulty of control greatly increases. With the recent confirmation of the existence of resistant biotypes to glyphosate, the problems became worse and knowledge on the biology of this species is critical to develop strategies for chemical management of sourgrass. The presence of this species should be monitored during the crop growing seasons (winter and summer) and also during off-season period, once neglecting the occurrence of this plant in the area can lead to a sharp increase in the population of Digitaria insularis and consequently to serious crop yield losses and increased production costs.