Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment

Evaluation of competitiveness of cotton varieties to cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium L.) 

Author(s):

Asghar Rezakhanlou ¹*, Bahram Mirshekari ¹, Eskandar Zand ², Farhad Farahvash ¹, Mohammad Ali Baghestani ²

Recieved Date: 2012-11-28, Accepted Date: 2013-04-20

Abstract:

Resistance to herbicides in the most important weeds threatens the sustainability of cotton production. Weed-competitive cotton cultivars could be a low-cost and safe non-chemical addition to an integrated weed management program to increase the cotton yield. Trade-offs between competitiveness and productivity and inconsistent trait expression under weedy and weed-free conditions could complicate the breeding of competitive cotton cultivars. A field study was conducted in 2011 on sandy loam to determine the influence of densities of cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium) on the competitiveness of cotton varieties. Weeds were established at densities of 0. 2 and 4 weeds/m of row and allowed to compete the entire season with cotton grown at density of 4 plants/m of row corresponding to 66,000 cotton plants/ha. Conventional cultural practices were employed in these experiments. Cotton yield was inversely related to weed density; cotton yield decreased 31% for every one unit increase in cocklebur density/m of crop row. There was variation between cultivars for year of variety introduction (P<0.01). Correlation between year of variety introduction and cotton yield was positive in weed free condition, but in term of competition, this relation was negative. Even though modern cultivars have superior yields in the weed free condition, they are unable to suppress weed growth. Therefore, early year introduced variety had high competitiveness ability to cocklebur but modern variety showed weak competitiveness. 

Keywords:

Cotton, cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium L.), weed

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Journal: Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment
Year: 2013
Volume: 11
Issue: 2
Category: Agriculture
Pages: 308-311

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