Establishment of the baseline sensitivity and monitoring response of Papaver rhoeas populations to florasulam

In accordance with the EPPO guideline for the efficacy evaluation of plant protection products, resistance risk analysis PP 1/213(1), a method was established to determine the baseline sensitivity of key weed species to florasulam, a new triazolopyrimidine sulfonanilide herbicide for post-emergence control of dicotyledonous weeds in cereals. The aim of the baseline monitoring project was to understand the natural variation in response to florasulam of diverse populations of Papaver rhoeas at the time of product launch. The method entailed seed collection from representative agricultural areas throughout Europe. The seed was subjected to glasshouse tests where dose-response studies were conducted and ED80 values generated. This enabled a sensitivity index to be calculated for each country, giving an indication of the variation in P rhoeas response to florasulam in the populations tested. (C) 2002 Society of Chemical Industry.