The intensive use of glyphosate in Roundup Ready® (RR) soybean fields in Rio Grande do Sul (RS), in recent years may have selected wild poinsettia (Euphorbia heterophylla) biotypes resistant to the herbicide. This scenario will further complicate the management of this species, since evidence remains of the presence of herbicide resistant biotypes also in acetolactate synthase (ALS)-inhibitors. Thus, the objectives of this work were to evaluate wild poinsettia's sensitivity to the ALS-inhibiting herbicides and glyphosate; to investigate the distribution of resistant biotypes in the state of RS;and to determine the main agronomic factors associated with control failures. Seeds of wild poinsettia plants that survived glyphosate applications were collected from RR soybean fields located in 56 municipalities in the state of RS. On the occasion, the farmers were interviewed through a questionnaire aiming to collect information on the management of the area. Using the seeds collected, two experiments were conducted under greenhouse conditions. The first evaluated the response of 86 biotypes to glyphosate, applied at the rate of 2.160 g ha-1 while the second experiment evaluated the response of the herbicide imazethapyr to 73 biotypes, applied at a dose of 200 g a.i. ha‑1. The results show that all the wild poinsettia biotypes evaluated are susceptible to glyphosate, but some are resistant to ALS-inhibitors. The survey responses indicate that management practices such as the use of sub doses and/or intensive use of glyphosate, as well as lack of crop rotation favor failures in wild poinsettia control by glyphosate in soybean.
Glycine max; wild poinsettia; weed; susceptibility
