Herbicide Drift Effects on Crop Yield and Injury

Herbicide drift, the unintended movement of chemical agents beyond their target zones, poses a significant threat to global crop production and biodiversity. Movement can occur as primary drift, when spray droplets or fine aerosol travel during application, and as secondary drift, through volatilisation or soil-bound re-emission. Sensitive non-target vegetation often exhibits characteristic injury symptoms—leaf epinasty, chlorosis and stunting—and even low-level exposures can translate into measurable yield penalties. Yield reduction varies with the herbicide mode of action, crop species, growth stage at exposure and environmental factors such as temperature inversions and wind patterns. Regions with intensive broadleaf weed management, particularly where auxinic herbicides such as dicamba or 2,4-D are employed, have recorded off-target incidents affecting legumes, solanaceous crops and ornamentals. Beyond agronomic losses, drift events challenge regulatory frameworks and drive the development of tolerant cultivars. Mitigation strategies—including optimised nozzle design, strategic timing of applications and buffer-zone regulations—are continually refined, yet comprehensive monitoring and early detection remain critical. Recent advances emphasise the need for integrated approaches that unite agronomic practice, genetic resilience and advanced sensing to safeguard crop integrity and sustain production systems.

Research from Nature Portfolio

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Herbicide Drift Effects on Crop Yield and Injury publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in herbicide drift effects on crop yield and injury across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Herbicide drift: The movement of herbicidal chemicals through air from the target to non-target areas.

Primary drift: Airborne transport of spray droplets or aerosol during or immediately after application.

Secondary drift: Subsequent movement of volatilised or soil-bound residues after the initial application period.

Subdose: A fraction of the recommended field dose used to simulate low-level drift exposures.

Hyperspectral imaging: A remote-sensing technique that captures spectral information across numerous contiguous wavelengths for precise detection of physiological changes.

References

1. Practical Knowledge of Injuries Caused by Simulated Herbicide Drift in Young Tomato Plants. Agrochemicals (2023).
2. Genetic architecture of soybean tolerance to off-target dicamba. Frontiers in Plant Science (2023).
3. Early Detection of Dicamba and 2,4-D Herbicide Drifting Injuries on Soybean with a New Spatial–Spectral Algorithm Based on LeafSpec, an Accurate Touch-Based Hyperspectral Leaf Scanner. Remote Sensing (2023).
4. Off-target pesticide movement: a review of our current understanding of drift due to inversions and secondary movement. Weed Technology (2020).