HERBICIDES – ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STUDIES AND MANAGEMENT APPROACHES Edited by Ruben Alvarez-Fernandez HERBICIDES – ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STUDIES AND MANAGEMENT APPROACHES Edited by Ruben Alvarez-Fernandez Herbicides – Environmental Impact Studies and Management Approaches Edited by Ruben Alvarez-Fernandez Published by InTech Janeza Trdine 9, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia Copyright © 2011 InTech All chapters are Open Access distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license, which allows users to download, copy and build upon published articles even for commercial purposes, as long as the author and publisher are properly credited, which ensures maximum dissemination and a wider impact of our publications. After this work has been published by InTech, authors have the right to republish it, in whole or part, in any publication of which they are the author, and to make other personal use of the work. Any republication, referencing or personal use of the work must explicitly identify the original source. As for readers, this license allows users to download, copy and build upon published chapters even for commercial purposes, as long as the author and publisher are properly credited, which ensures maximum dissemination and a wider impact of our publications. Notice Statements and opinions expressed in the chapters are these of the individual contributors and not necessarily those of the editors or publisher. No responsibility is accepted for the accuracy of information contained in the published chapters. The publisher assumes no responsibility for any damage or injury to persons or property arising out of the use of any materials, instructions, methods or ideas contained in the book. Publishing Process Manager Petra Nenadic Technical Editor Teodora Smiljanic Cover Designer InTech Design Team First published January, 2012 Printed in Croatia A free online edition of this book is available at www.intechopen.com Additional hard copies can be obtained from [email protected] Herbicides – Environmental Impact Studies and Management Approaches, Edited by Ruben Alvarez-Fernandez p. cm. ISBN 978-953-307-892-2 Contents Preface IX Chapter 1 Evaluation of Toxicities of Herbicides Using Short-Term Chronic Tests of Alga, Daphnid and Fish 1 Norihisa Tatarazako and Taisen Iguchi Chapter 2 Herbicide Phytotoxicity and Resistance to Herbicides in Legume Plants 19 Agnieszka I. Piotrowicz-Cieślak and Barbara Adomas Chapter 3 Use of Sugar Beet as a Bioindicator Plant for Detection of Flucarbazone and Sulfentrazone Herbicides in Soil 45 Anna M. Szmigielski, Jeff J. Schoenau and Eric N. Johnson Chapter 4 Investigation of Degradation of Pesticide Lontrel in Aqueous Solutions 59 E.A. Saratovskih Chapter 5 Distribution and Potential Effects of Novel Antifouling Herbicide Diuron on Coral Reefs 83 Sheikh, M. A., T. Oomori, H. Fujimura, T.Higuchi, T. Imo, A. Akamatsu, T. Miyagi, T. Yokota, S. Yasumura Chapter 6 Herbicide Reduction Methods 95 Martin Weis, Martina Keller and Victor Rueda Ayala Chapter 7 Managing Weeds with Reduced Herbicide Inputs: Developing a Novel System for Onion 121 Harlene Hatterman-Valenti Chapter 8 Microbial Weed Control and Microbial Herbicides 135 Tami L. Stubbs and Ann C. Kennedy VI Contents Chapter 9 Velvet Bean (Mucuna pruriens var. utilis) a Cover Crop as Bioherbicide to Preserve the Environmental Services of Soil 167 Angel Isauro Ortiz Ceballos, Juan Rogelio Aguirre Rivera, Mario Manuel Osorio Arce and Cecilia Peña Valdivia Chapter 10 Organic Weed Control 185 Charles L. Webber III, James W. Shrefler and Lynn P. Brandenberger Chapter 11 Opportunities for Weed Control in Dry Seeded Rice in North-Western Indo-Gangetic Plains 199 Gulshan Mahajan Bhagirath Singh Chauhan and Jagadish Timsina , Chapter 12 Weed Management Challenges in Fairtrade Banana Farm Systems in the Windward Islands of the Caribbean 209 Wendy-Ann P. Isaac, Richard A.I. Brathwaite and Wayne G. Ganpat Chapter 13 Genetic Diversity in Weeds 223 Claudete Aparecida Mangolin; Rubem Silvério de Oliveira Junior and Maria de Fátima P.S. Machado Preface Weeds severely affect crop quality and yield. Therefore, successful farming relied for a very long time on the combination of manual weeding and management approaches, including crop rotation, fire, tillage, and fallow systems. A new farming era began during the Second World War with the discovery of two synthetic auxinic herbicides. In 1942, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D)was first identified, which was soon followed by 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid (MCPA) in 1945 and 1946, respectively. These two herbicides were then marketed and used to selectively control broad leaf weeds in cereal crops. The use of herbicides on a wide scale started in the 1950’s and expanded quickly until the 1970’s. Thousands of new compounds and herbicides were identified, allowing for a qualitative increase in crop yield. However, this “easy chemistry” soon became fully exploited. Toxicities to the environment and humans were found, and consequently regulations tightened. The development of herbicide-resistant crops forced a change in the scope of herbicide development. And by 1980, the growth of this industry began to decline and today it remains in a static situation. This book blends review chapters with scientific studies, providing the reader with an insight into some of the current trends in the field of herbicides. Included are environmental case studies on the toxicity and impact of herbicides on natural populations, as well as methods to reduce herbicidal inputs and the use of bioherbicides as natural alternatives. Importantly, this book describes ecological and economical aspects of herbicide application. On the one hand it shows the need for controlling or abandoning herbicide applications to reduce contamination, and on the other it shows how increased herbicide dosage does not necessarily imply higher crop yield and can actually lower the economic gain. Indeed, in some cases, herbicide savings could reach 80% with appropriate management and decision support systems - an approach that the farmer usually dismisses because he may think that killing the weed is always necessary. Consequently, the use of Integrated Weed Management approaches and Decision Support Systems is encouraged. These will assist in choosing optimal parameters such as herbicide type, application time, area, and mode aiming at obtaining the highest yield and crop quality with the minimum environmental impact. X Preface Finally, as Editor of this book I would like to acknowledge the effort of the authors, their prompt response to comments, and their openness to discuss suggestions to improve the chapters. I would also like to thank my Publishing Process Manager, Ms. Petra Nenadic, for her kindness, willingness to help, and professionalism during the editorial process. Dr Rubén Álvarez-Fernandéz University of Cambridge, Department of Plant Sciences, UK