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Crop Sciences

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

CPSC 526: Herbicide Action in Plants

4 hours

Course Description This course will discuss principles of herbicide physiology and Biochemistry in plants. Lecture topics will cover aspects of herbicide uptake, translocation, mechanism of action, sites of action, selectivity, metabolism, and detoxification.

Special topics will include application of molecular techniques in herbicide physiology research, herbicide resistant crops and weeds, resistance mechanisms in weeds, and use of biotechnology to improve herbicide selectivity between crops and weeds. Students will lead weekly discussions to learn how to critically evaluate scientific research papers related to herbicide physiology and Biochemistry.
Course Objectives

By the end of this course, students will:

  • be able to identify chemical structures and major classes of herbicides
  • understand how herbicide chemistry/structure affects uptake, translocation, and metabolism in plants
  • be able to identify the site of action, route of metabolic detoxification, and mechanism of selectivity for each class of herbicide chemistry
  • be able to critically evaluate the scientific literature regarding herbicide physiology and Biochemistry in plants
  • understand how molecular biology/biotechnology can be used to enhance herbicide selectivity and efficacy in plants
Course Time Only offered in alternate years. See the University Course Schedule for times.
Instructor Dean E. Riechers
N-331 Turner Hall
Phone: (217) 333-9655
E-mail: riechers@uiuc.edu (preferred contact method)
Prerequisites CPSC 426 and CPSC 484.