Waterhemp, the aggressive weed threatening corn belt crop production, is throwing curveballs once again, according to researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The weed has famously developed resistance to not 1 or 2, but 7 herbicide sites-of-action classes, nearly exhausting the chemical tools farmers can use to defend their livelihood.

Depending on the species, weeds spread with the help of wind, water or by other means, but human factors seem to be the best way to spread weeds from field to field, across a state, from state to state and even from one country to a different one.

For HWSC to be effective, waterhemp must retain the majority of seed prior to harvest.

In a new study from the University of Illinois, scientists document waterhemp’s resistance to yet another class of herbicides, known as Group 15s. The study provides the first documentation of a non-grass plant to be resistant to Group 15 herbicides.