Abstract The effects of three postemergence herbicides that inhibit carotenoid biosynthesis were tested on field dodder. Flurochloridone, sulcotrione, and mesotrione treatments led to bleaching symptoms in field dodder stems. The effect of flurochloridone was rapid; 2 d after treatment (DAT) the stem was bleached and contained only 2% β-carotene, with a massive accumulation of phytoene in comparison with the control. However, flurochloridone treatment did not inhibit stem elongation, and full recovery of pigment composition at newly elongated stems was recorded 6 DAT. The effects of sulcotrione and mesotrione were similar, but the recovery was slower than with flurochloridone. The developing stems were fully bleached 6 DAT, with no detectable β-carotene, and subsequently no recovery was observed. All three herbicides led to mass destruction of the plastids in the parenchyma cells of the cortex and pith tissue. This disruption of the plastids was associated with depletion in starch content. Sulcotrione and...