Weed control is crucial for ensuring high and stable crop yields. Left uncontrolled, weeds are more likely to occupy ecological niches and outgrow crops. Therefore, upon emergence, weeds compete with crops for sunlight, water, and nutrients. Newly sprouted weeds are fragile and easily damaged. Applying a minimalist approach, sealing the soil with a lethal herbicide to intervene before weeds emerge, is currently the preferred weed control strategy.
On May 10, 2025, a team led by Hanhong Xu from South China Agricultural University published a research paper titled "Fabricating supramolecular pre-emergence herbicide CPAM-BPyHs for farming herbicide-resistant rice" in Nature Communications. This study innovatively proposed a "pesticide transport smart switch" strategy, successfully breeding new herbicide-resistant rice varieties. Combined with a supramolecular soil-enclosed herbicide, this study established a simplified weed control technology system suitable for direct-seeded rice fields. This marks a significant breakthrough for precision pesticide innovation team in the field of targeted pesticide accumulation and precise application, moving from theoretical research to practical application.
Leveraging their expertise in pesticide transport and targeted accumulation, the research team identified the polyamine transporter OsLAT5 based on chemical homology and discovered its ability to transport bipyridyl herbicides (BPyHs, including paraquat and diquat). Furthermore, by targeted inactivation of the OsLAT5 protein, the researchers conferred selective resistance to BPyHs in rice, thereby achieving precise herbicide application on weeds. The resulting herbicide-resistant rice variety, "Baofeng 18," provides valuable genetic resources for breeding resistant rice.
Although BPyHs herbicides are effective against a variety of farmland weeds, their widespread application is limited by their susceptibility to adsorption by negatively charged soil, which inactivates them. To address this issue, the research team developed a novel supramolecular soil-locking herbicide, CPAM-BPyHs. The polymer CPAM effectively neutralizes negative charges in the soil, reducing its adsorption strength for bipyridine herbicides. This regulates the dynamic balance between soil adsorption and crop uptake, significantly reducing the risk of herbicide migration with water and enabling efficient and precise application of a lethal herbicide. Field trials demonstrated that Baofeng 18 exhibited high tolerance to CPAM-BPyHs, achieving over 90% weed control with a single pre-emergence blocking treatment, and the efficacy lasted for over a month.
Figure 1. Properties of BPyHs and CPAM-BPyHs. (Chen, et al. 2025)
This study organically combines crop resistance breeding technology with supramolecular chemistry principles to construct a synergistic "resistant crop-smart herbicide" control system, providing a novel solution to the conflict between efficiency and environmental safety in farmland weed management. This achievement fully demonstrates the advantages of interdisciplinary integration and has important theoretical and practical significance for promoting green and sustainable agricultural development.
Get Latest Lifeasible News and Updates Directly to Your Inbox
Weed Control Revolutionizes: One Application Achieves 90% Weed Control
September 10, 2025
