Does selective hormesis impact herbicide resistance evolution in weeds? ACCase-resistant populations of Alopecurus myosuroides Huds. as a case study.

Background: A field-evolved herbicide-resistant weed population can represent a heterogeneous composite of subpopulations that differ in their susceptibility and responsiveness to herbicide hormesis. Variable hormesis responsiveness can result in selection for and against certain subpopulations under low herbicide doses, and this has the potential to contribute to the evolution of resistance. The relevance of this hypothesis at practical field rates was studied for two field-collected acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase (ACCase) target-site resistant (TSR) biotypes of Alopecurus myosuroides Huds.