The effect of labeling herbicides with their site of action: A Canadian perspective

Industry, public-sector researchers and extension agents, and growers were surveyed in 1998 to determine their perspectives on how labeling herbicides with their site of action (group number) would affect the herbicide use pr actices of growers, The crop protection industry in Canada represented by t he Crop Protection Institute (CPI) generally supports herbicide resistance labeling but has some concerns regarding the wording of the labels, includi ng the identification symbol, Most researchers and extension agents believe that labeling herbicides with their site of action will facilitate herbici de group rotation by growers who frequently use herbicides from the same gr oup. Of the two-thirds of the 126 surveyed growers who were familiar with h erbicide groupings, 58% practiced herbicide group rotation, Those who did n ot tended to lack understanding of the basis and purpose of herbicide class ification. Grower responses were similar to those from the research and ext ension community, although only 29% of the growers who currently do not rot ate herbicides from different groups believed that resistance management la beling would influence them.