Lana Koepke Johnson | Agronomy and Horticulture
Amit Jhala, University of Nebraska–Lincoln associate professor of agronomy and horticulture and Nebraska Extension weed management specialist, was invited by the Weed Science Society of America to write review papers for the journal, Weed Technology. These papers synthesize previous studies on how pollen-mediated gene flow can transfer herbicide resistance alleles from herbicide-resistant to susceptible broadleaf and grass weeds.
“It was an honor to be invited by the editor of Weed Technology to lead the creation of these papers for publication,” Jhala said.
Jhala has been at Nebraska since 2012 and is known world-wide for his research on pollen-mediated gene flow from herbicide resistant crops and weeds. His research focuses on the biology, pollen-mediated gene flow and management of herbicide-resistant weeds.
In last 10 years, Jhala’s team has conducted several research projects and proved that pollen-mediated gene flow is playing an important role in disseminating herbicide resistant alleles in several weed species. This research is extremely important as six broadleaf weeds including common ragweed, giant ragweed, marestail, kochia, Palmer amaranth, and waterhemp have evolved resistance to glyphosate − the most commonly used herbicide in Nebraska corn and soybean production.
He has published several papers in high impact journals such as Nature Scientific Reports, The Plant Journal, Crop Science, Heredity, Weed Science about pollen-mediated gene flow from herbicide-resistant giant ragweed, waterhemp and Palmer amaranth.
Jhala’s weed science Extension program reaches several thousand clientele in Nebraska each year and beyond to solve weed-related problems in corn, soybean, sorghum and popcorn. His team demonstrates trials of new herbicides, multiple herbicide-resistant crops and how to manage herbicide-resistant weeds. These events, attended by growers, crop consultants, industry representatives and Nebraska’s commodity board members, provide unbiased information about weed control.
Publication credits for Jhala include 12 book chapters and 135 papers published in peer-reviewed journals.
Published review papers are available online for free download.
- Jhala et al. Pollen-mediated gene flow and transfer of resistance alleles from herbicide-resistant broadleaf weeds.
- Jhala et al. Transfer of resistance alleles from herbicide-resistant to susceptible grass weeds via pollen-mediated gene flow.
More information about Jhala's research is at https://agronomy.unl.edu/jhalalab.
