Repetitive spraying of imidazolinone herbicides year after year to control weeds in the soybean grown areas of Cafelândia, Paraná, Brazil, has favored the selection of an ALS (acetolactate synthase) inhibitor herbicide resistant biotype of wild poinsettia (Euphorbia heterophylla). A comparative study of growth and development of wild poinsettia resistant and susceptible to ALS inhibitor herbicides was carried out in the greenhouse of the experimental station of Soybean Embrapa in Londrina, Paraná, Brazil. Total dry biomass yield, leaf area, shoot dry weight, leaf dry weight, root dry weight and height per plant were measured 13 times at 2 week intervals, starting 14 days after sowing. Relative growth rate, net assimilation rate, leaf area ratio, leaf weight ratio and specific leaf area decreased with plant ontogeny and behaved similarly in both biotypes. The total dry matter of the plants and their organs as well as the leaf area and plant height exhibited similar ranges of variability in both biotypes. There were no significant differences between biotypes both for growth and development characteristics.
herbicide resistance; leaf area; growth rate
