User: Laboratoire d’expertise et de diagnostic en phytoprotection, ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation du Québec
The majority of pesticides used in Québec are herbicides, primarily employed to control weeds in agriculture (62%). These weeds compete with crops, reducing yields and profits for farms. Some, such as invasive or herbicide-resistant species, pose additional biosafety issues. They can spread from one field to another, and their seeds may remain dormant in the soil until conditions are suitable for germination.
It is essential to control these weeds, and a fast and accurate means of identifying their seeds in the soil would be very helpful. This would enable targeting problematic species and intervening more precisely to reduce herbicide use and prevent their spread. However, current methods are slow and costly, requiring several months and specific expertise in weed identification through microscopy.
Metagenomics and high-throughput sequencing offer solutions to these challenges by allowing rapid and reliable identification of weeds in the soil. This would assist farmers in their weed management strategies and facilitate trials to assess the effectiveness of weed control products. This would promote the development of new, effective products, essential for sustainable agriculture.