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Herbicide-Resistant Crops

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Ethics

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Synonyms

Genetically modified; Herbicides; Resistance; Tillage; Transgenic; Weeds

Introduction

Herbicide-resistant (HR) crops have been genetically modified (GM) so that they are not damaged by applications of certain herbicides. Because herbicides are designed to kill plants, they can cause injury to conventional crop varieties. This limits when and how herbicides can be applied, making them less effective. Because many herbicides are effective against only certain types of plants, growers face the complexity of choosing among several chemicals for different weeds. Crops resistant to broad-spectrum herbicides overcome these problems by reducing crop injury and allowing applications of a single herbicide for most (or all) chemical weed control (NRC 2010). Mechanical and hand tillage to control weeds has become more costly as labor and fuel costs have risen relative to herbicide costs (Osteen and Fernandez-Cornejo 2013). There are additional environmental problems with tillage,...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Arizona, Chávez, 1110 E. James E. Rogers Way, Tucson, AZ, 85721-0023, USA

    Dr. George Frisvold

Authors
  1. Dr. George Frisvold
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Correspondence to George Frisvold .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Michigan State University Dept. Philosophy, East Lansing, Michigan, USA

    Paul B. Thompson

  2. University of North Texas Dept. Philosophy & Religion Studies, Denton, Texas, USA

    David M. Kaplan

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Frisvold, G. (2013). Herbicide-Resistant Crops. In: Thompson, P., Kaplan, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Ethics. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6167-4_71-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6167-4_71-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-007-6167-4

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