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Herbicidal Properties of the Antibiotic Monensin
Author(s) -
Hoagland Robert E
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0010(199603)70:3<373::aid-jsfa516>3.0.co;2-p
Subject(s) - monensin , antibiotics , biology , chemistry , toxicology , microbiology and biotechnology , zoology
The agricultural antibiotic monensin caused herbicidal injury to 1‐ to 2‐week‐old seedlings of seven weed and two crop species when applied at 10 −4 M as a foliar spray in the greenhouse. The non‐ionic surfactant tergitol TMN (0·1 ml litre −1 ) aided foliar absorption of monensin and increased herbicidal injury. Fresh weight reductions ranged from 20 to 75% (compared to control seedings treated with tergitol alone) 65 h after spray application of 10 −4 M monensin with tergitol. When root‐fed at 10 −4 M, monensin (without tergitol) caused death in all nine species within 24–72 h after treatment. Monensin supplied to roots at 10 −5 M caused fresh weight reductions in spurred anoda, velvetleaf and prickly sida of 43, 32 and 23%, respectively. Substantial growth effects also occurred in hemp sesbania and sicklepod (33 and 15% reductions in fresh weight, respectively); jimsonweed and johnsongrass had the least fresh weight reductions. Injury included chlorosis, necrosis, desiccation and leaf abscission. Cotton and okra were the most tolerant of all species tested; however, three malvaceous weeds were severely damaged by the compound. When root‐fed at 10 −6 M, monensin caused limited injury. Monensin exhibited some degree of selectivity among these crop and weed species and caused greater injury in light‐treated than dark‐treated plant tissues.