Weed and Disease Responses to Herbicides in Single- and Double-Row Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum)

Abstract

For 3 yr, herbicide treatments of preplant trifluralin (α,α,α-trifluoro-2,6-dinitro-N,N-dipropyl-p-toluidine), postemergence diuron [3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea], both herbicides, or none were superimposed on cotton (Gossypium hirsutumL. ‘Acala SJ-2′) grown on beds centered at 102 cm using a single row or two rows spaced 28 cm apart. Cotton stand, after thinning, was 5.1 plants/m in each cotton row. Herbicides controlled annual weeds regardless of planting pattern. Cultivation, without herbicides, controlled annual grass weeds much better in cotton grown in single rows than in double rows. Preplant applications of trifluralin did not influence populations of cotton plants, regardless of row pattern. Single- and double-row plots treated with trifluralin always yielded more than untreated double rows. In two of three seasons, however, single-row plots without herbicides yielded as much as those treated with trifluralin. The lower yields in the double-row cotton were associated with reduced annual grass control especially in plots not treated with trifluralin. Weed control treatments or planting patterns did not influence the occurrence ofPythium ultimumTrow orRhizoctonia solaniKühn on cotton seedlings. The presence ofThielaviopsis basicola(Berk & Br.) Ferr. on cotton seedlings was not influenced by planting pattern but was increased by trifluralin in the third year of the study. Percentage of cotton plants with symptoms of verticillium wilt (Verticillium dahliaeKleb.) was not influenced by weed control treatments, but the percentage of diseased plants was higher in single-row than in double-row planting patterns. We attribute this response to fewer plants per hectare in single rows compared to double rows.