Pre-harvest retting of flax: a light microscope study of the effects of glyphosate treatment on the maturation of stem tissues

A range of glyphosate treatments was applied to flax at three stages of flowering. Spraying at a rate equivalent to 1.4 kg a. e./ha at the start of flowering gave satisfactorily uniform premature desiccation and was selected for investigation of the effects of the herbicide on stem tissues, using light microscopy. During normal maturation, increase in fibre cell wall thickness, lignification of the fibres and differentiation of the secondary xylem continued for 3–5 wk after the beginning of flowering. This differentiation was halted by the application of glyphosate. Three wk after treatment various types of tissue damage were observed. In some sections epidermal and cortical cells showed the most damage, this being consistent with herbicide uptake at the stem surface. In other sections phloem and associated parenchyma cells showed the most damage. Disintegration of phloem and cortical cells occurred in some treated stem segments and caused separation of the fibre bundles from their surrounding tissues. This resembled the release of fibre bundles which results from conventional post-harvest retting. The potential of glyphosate application to flax as a pre-harvest retting technique is discussed.