Diagnosing Herbicide Injury

Herbicides, when used properly, rarely cause problems on non-target plants. However, these products can cause injury when applied inappropriately, when they turn into a gas (a process called volatilization), or when they are blown by the wind away from the targeted area (a process called drift). Accurately diagnosing plants that show herbicide injury symptoms is often difficult since, in many cases, other causes may be involved or it may be uncertain what herbicides were applied. This section is intended to aid in recognizing symptoms associated with specific herbicides.