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July 29, 2016 CapitalPress.com 9 OSU researcher targets weeds Carol Mallory-Smith Capital Press CORVALLIS, Ore. — In the world of weed control, Carol Mallory-Smith believes what’s old is becoming new again. During her lifetime, the Oregon State University weed science professor has seen ag- riculture’s approach to battling weeds come full circle. Farmers such as Mallo- ry-Smith’s father didn’t have access to the multitude of her- bicides available today, which meant they had to till weeds or suppress them with cover crops. The popularity of those methods receded with the rise of chemical solutions, but with increased weed resistance to herbicides, Mallory-Smith ex- pects farmers will again be em- ploying them. Herbicides will remain an important part of modern farm- ing, but growers will likely use them more strategically in conjunction with non-chemical controls to ensure they stay ef- fective, she said. “It will be looking at the old techniques with a brand new eye,” Mallory-Smith said. The advent of herbicides has been revolutionary, allow- ing growers to kill weeds more quickly and thus cultivate a greater number of acres, mak- ing crop production more efi- cient, she said. Yields and crop quality im- proved, particularly with the availability of selective herbi- cides that were able to target broadleaf or grass weeds while minimizing the harm to desir- able plants. “It changed agriculture dra- matically,” Mallory-Smith said. Unfortunately, weeds have demonstrated the ability to ight back. When weed populations are repeatedly sprayed with a chemical, some hardy individu- als will withstand the substance and then pass that trait to their progeny. Over time, the genetic Occupation: Weed science professor at Oregon State University Education: Ph.D. in plant science from the University of Idaho in 1990, bachelor of science in plant protection from the University of Idaho in 1986 Age: 67 Hometown: Albany, Ore. Family: Husband, Robert, four grown children and 12 grandchil- dren Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press Carol Mallory-Smith, a weed science professor at Oregon State University, studies herbicides that can be used on specialty crops in the Northwest and in recent years has also been drawn into some of the controversies over genetic engineering. tolerance becomes more wide- spread and reduces the herbi- cide’s effectiveness. That process can occur faster than anticipated, as Mal- lory-Smith found out while studying for her doctorate, when she identiied one of the irst weeds resistant to the sul- fonylurea class of herbicides. The prickly lettuce was dis- covered in a ield where the University of Idaho had con- ducted research for years. As it turned out, a high mutation rate allowed the weed to overcome the chemical’s enzyme-inhibit- ing properties. “It was unexpected. The chemistry was really new,” she said. Herbicide resistance has be- come an even more prominent issue in agriculture due to its association with genetic engi- neering. Major commodity crops, including corn, soybeans and cotton, have often been genet- ically modiied to withstand herbicides such as glyphosate. The technology makes kill- ing weeds easier without hurt- ing crops, but the increased reliance on herbicides has also caused more weeds to develop resistance. Mallory-Smith considers herself an “agnostic” when it comes to genetic engineering, but thinks herbicide-resistant crops could have been man- aged more carefully. The agricultural industry embraced the technology, be- lieving it would “solve all our problems,” without relying enough on tactics that would slow the adaptation of weeds, she said. “Now we’re sort of back where we started.” The phenomenon of geneti- cally engineered crops spurring herbicide resistance in weeds is primarily occurring in the Mid- west, where commodity crops are grown. However, that fact has hard- ly insulated Mallory-Smith from the controversies sur- rounding biotechnology. Her involvement in the 2013 discovery of biotech wheat growing unauthorized in an Eastern Oregon ield was a notable episode that attracted global attention. When a farmer realized that some of his volunteer wheat wasn’t dying after be- ing sprayed with glyphosate, he brought samples to OSU for analysis. Mallory-Smith believed there was “no way” the herbi- cide-resistant wheat was a genet- ically engineered by Monsanto, since research and development of that cultivar had been halted a decade earlier. “It made no sense that it would be,” she said. DNA testing of the wheat revealed that it was, in fact, the Monsanto variety, which had nev- er been deregulated by USDA. Its source was never discov- ered, but the inding did tem- porarily disrupt Asian export markets and resulted in a class action lawsuit by farmers that Monsanto eventually settled for $2.7 million. Mallory-Smith was also drawn into a long-running dispute over glyphosate-resis- tant sugar beets, which were the subject of several lawsuits by biotech critics before the USDA ultimately deregulated them in 2012. The plaintiffs bolstered their request for an injunction against the crop with a written declaration from Mallory-Smith stating that vi- able roots of the transgenic variety had been found in compost mix. The incident was cited as an exam- ple of the dificulty containing the crop. Monsanto also relied on Mallory-Smith in its argu- ments against an injunction with a declaration in which she supported the company’s safe- guards for growing the crop while USDA studied its envi- ronmental impacts. It’s painful to watch such conlicts erupt within agricul- ture, Mallory-Smith said. Her philosophy is to approach such disputes as forthrightly as pos- sible. “Sometimes it’s going to be ine, sometimes people are going to be upset with you,” she said. Currently, Mallory-Smith is studying a subject that’s touchy among farmers and seed companies in Oregon’s Willamette Valley: canola pro- duction. When state lawmakers im- posed a moratorium on most canola production in the re- gion, they also directed OSU to conduct a three-year study on weed, disease and pest risks posed by the crop. Specialty seed companies fear such problems will in- crease if it becomes prevalent, but the possibility of genetical- ly engineered canola cross-pol- linating with related vegetable species has also cast a shadow over the crop. For now, Mallory-Smith remains tight-lipped about the results of her study, but the controversy is likely to lare up again when her report is re- leased in late 2017. But not all of her work takes place in the spotlight. A key part of Mallo- ry-Smith’s job is evaluating herbicides for safety and efi- cacy in specialty crops that are grown in the Northwest. Chemical companies con- duct such analysis for major commodity crops, but it’s not economically justiiable for them to examine crops grown on small acreage. This story irst appeared April 15, 2016. Become the new generation of farmer - at the forefront of technology and agriculture. Contact us today! Lindsey Williams (509) 524-5239 lindsey.williams@wwcc.edu Mike Hagerman (509) 527-4217 michael.hagerman@wwcc.edu www.WWCC.edu 500 Tausick Way Walla Walla, WA 99362 AI.OW16-4/#6 By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
