1992/09/01 by C. André Lévesque, James E. Rahe · 167 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Agronomy #Biology #Botany #Fungal disease #Glyphosate #Microbiology #Nematode management and characterization studies #Plant Disease Management Techniques #Weed Control and Herbicide Applications
paper · doi:10.1146/annurev.py.30.090192.003051
published in Annual Review of Phytopathology 30(1), 579-602 (Annual Reviews)
openalex publication_date 1992/09/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/27
Weeds are the most economically important of all pests with respect to sales of pesticides and limitations to crop yields (62). Herbicide sales represent more than two thirds of the 436 x 106 kg of pesticides used annually in United States (113), and almost one half of the 21 billion worldwide pesticide market (8). Numerous cases where an herbicide treatment influences disease outcome have been studied by plant pathologists as well as weed scientists. The concepts and the literature on interactions between herbicides, microorganisms, and plant diseases have been extensively reviewed (2-4, 40, 51, 59, 78, 129, 150). Most of the literature on herbicides deals with their direct effects on weeds and the effects of weed control on crops (Figure 1A). The effects of herbicides coming in direct contact with crops are considered secondarily in the weed-management literature (Figure 1B). The protection or predisposition of crops to disease that is sometimes observed following the use of herbicides is of particular interest to plant pathologists. As we document in this review, herbicides can alter soil ecosystems by having a direct effect on various components of the soil microflora, such as