Hostname: page-component-74d7c59bfc-4tngj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-02-05T08:37:02.591Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français
Accepted manuscript

Impact of irrigation levels on herbicide activity in the cotton production system

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2026

Jasleen Singh Makkar Open the ORCID record for Jasleen Singh Makkar [Opens in a new window] ,
Rupinder Saini Open the ORCID record for Rupinder Saini [Opens in a new window] ,
Preetaman Bajwa Open the ORCID record for Preetaman Bajwa [Opens in a new window] ,
Sukhbir Singh Open the ORCID record for Sukhbir Singh [Opens in a new window] ,
Lindsey Slaughter Open the ORCID record for Lindsey Slaughter [Opens in a new window]  and
Glen Ritchie
Jasleen Singh Makkar
Affiliation:
Former Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Plant and Soil Science, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA Research Associate, Eastern Virginia Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Virginia Tech, Warsaw, VA, USA
Rupinder Saini*
Affiliation:
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Plant and Soil Science, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA
Preetaman Bajwa
Affiliation:
Former Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Plant and Soil Science, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA Graduate Research Assistant, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Sukhbir Singh
Affiliation:
Associate Professor, Department of Plant and Soil Science, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA
Lindsey Slaughter
Affiliation:
Associate Professor, Department of Plant and Soil Science, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA
Glen Ritchie
Affiliation:
Professor, J. A. Love Chair, and Department Chair, Department of Plant and Soil Science, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA.
*
Author for correspondence: Rupinder Saini, Research Assistant Professor, Department of Plant and Soil Science, Texas Tech University, Bayer Plant Science Building, 2911 15th Street, Mail Stop 42122, Lubbock, TX 79415, USA. (Email: r.saini@ttu.edu)
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Cotton production in the Texas High Plains faces significant challenges due to water scarcity resulting from uneven rainfall patterns and declining levels of the Ogallala aquifer. Deficit or reduced irrigation is one of the most common water management strategies to increase water use efficiency and cotton productivity in the region. However, deficit irrigation can affect the efficacy of herbicides on weeds. This study investigates how varying irrigation levels affect herbicide efficacy on weeds in cotton production systems. A two-year field study was conducted at Texas Tech University Quaker Research Farm in 2023 and 2024. The experiment was randomized three times in a split-plot design with two irrigation levels: I1 [100% crop evapotranspiration (ETc) replacement] and I2 [50% ETc replacement] as the main plot factor and different pre-emergent (PRE) and post-emergent (POST) herbicide combinations as the subplot factor. Results indicated that reducing the irrigation level to I2 did not affect the total weed density or biomass production but resulted in decreased Palmer amaranth height and biomass production compared to I1. Among herbicide treatments, acetochlor, prometryn, or S-metolachlor PRE fb glyphosate + acetochlor, prometryn, or S-metolachlor POST provided the most effective weed control, reducing total weed density, Palmer amaranth weed density and biomass compared to the untreated control and to PRE alone. Although I2 resulted in lower plant height in both years than I1, it produced comparable cotton biomass and lint yield. Among the herbicide treatments, PRE fb glyphosate + residual herbicide POST yielded significantly higher lint yield than the untreated control in both years. In conclusion, the study demonstrates that deficit irrigation is an effective water conservation technique that maintains cotton yield and herbicide efficacy. Additionally, using PRE fb POST herbicide combinations, farmers can achieve effective weed control and sustain cotton productivity in semi-arid regions.

Keywords

Herbicide efficacydeficit irrigationPalmer amaranth

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Weed Technology , Accepted manuscript , pp. 1 - 25
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Weed Science Society of America