RESISTANCE OF Amaranthus retroflexus TO ACETOLACTATE SYNTHASE INHIBITOR HERBICIDES IN BRAZIL

When in competition with cotton, Amaranthus retroflexus can cause high yield losses. Due to the limited availability of selective herbicides registered for post emergence control of this weed, the same herbicides have been used repeated times over the last few years, which may have selected resistant biotypes. Biotypes of A. retroflexus collected from the main areas of cotton cultivation in Brazil were submitted to dose-response trials, by applying the herbicides trifloxysulfuron-sodium and pyrithiobac-sodium in doses equivalent to 0, 1/4, 1/2, 1, 2 and 4 times the recommended rates. Resistance to ALS inhibitors was confirmed in biotypes of A. retroflexus. Biotype MS 2 from Mato Grosso do Sul, was cross-resistant to both trifloxysulfuron-sodium and pyrithiobac-sodium, while biotype MS 1 was resistant to trifloxysulfuron-sodium only. Likewise, singular and cross resistance was also confirmed in biotypes from Goias (GO 3, GO 4 and GO 6), in relation to trifloxysulfuron-sodium and pyrithiobac-sodium. One biotype from Mato Grosso (MT 13) was not resistant to any of the ALS inhibitors evaluated in this work.