Researchers at Colorado State University (CSU) are working on a new type of herbicide to tackle Palmer amaranth, a tough weed that’s causing big problems for farmers. The $650,000 project, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, aims to create a biological herbicide using advanced synthetic biology techniques.
The goal is to replace traditional chemical herbicides as concerns about overall efficacy and environmental impact increase. Weed challenges cost American farmers approximately $33 billion in losses every year, with Palmer amaranth a prime example as the weed impacts a variety of crops.
CSU’s team plans to engineer a biological herbicide that targets the weed’s specific genes, effectively killing it without harming nearby crops. Over the next four years, they’ll experiment with RNA molecules and plant viruses to develop this new solution.
Brian German
Ag News Director / AgNet West