Crop injury from sublethal rates of herbicide. I. tomato

Journal or Publishing Institution: HortScience

Study: https://web.archive.org/web/20180726144532/http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/content/36/4/669.short

Author(s): Gilreath, J.P., Chase, C.A. and Locascio, S.J.

Article Type: Peer Reviewed Study

Record ID: 781

Abstract: Drift from pesticides can kill or damage nontarget organisms. In these studies, the effects of sublethal rates of the herbicide glyphosate applied prebloom, at bloom, and postbloom of the first flower cluster were evaluated in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum). As rates increased from 1 to 100 g·ha^-1, foliar injury and flower and fruit number per plant varied with the stage of development at the time of exposure and the time of evaluation after treatment. Plants treated with 60 and 100 g·ha^-1 glyphosate prebloom and at bloom had developed moderate to severe foliar injury by 14 days after treatment, but phytotoxicity to plants treated postbloom was only mild to moderate. Blooms abscised from plants treated with 60 and 100 g·ha^-1 glyphosate for several weeks after application and fruit set was reduced. Greatest yield losses occurred following treatment prebloom (just prior to bloom) and at bloom. Plants treated before emergence of flower buds, and more mature plants exposed when first cluster fruit were sizing, yielded better than did those treated just prior to bloom and at bloom. Chemical name used: N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine (glyphosate).

Keywords: spray drift, herbicide injury, flower abscission, Lycopersicon esculentum

Citation: Gilreath, J.P., Chase, C.A. and Locascio, S.J., 2001. Crop injury from sublethal rates of herbicide. I. Tomato. HortScience, 36(4), pp.669-673.