Ronnie Barentine, University of Georgia, 105 Lumpkin St, Hawkinsville, GA 31036
Transgenic cotton including the Round-Up (RR) varieties first appeared in 1997 and now occupies approximately 95% of the cotton planted in Georgia and the other southern states. Due in large part to the use of RR varieties, over 60% of these acres were planted in conservation tillage. The reliance on RR cotton has created weed species (palmer amaranth pigweed) with resistance to glyphosate (actual Round-Up chemical). In anticipation of this problem, a three year on-farm research project was conducted to study the potential of increasing farm sustainability through the use of cover crops as the main weed suppressant for farming operations, using non-transgenic or conventional cotton. This very timely research will be very beneficial to growers that may be thinking of reverting back to conventional varieties in their conservation tillage systems. The results of the research show that DP 453 conventional cotton is competitive with the industry standard transgenic DP 555 RR/BR and that it would be an option for growers concerned about resistant palmer amaranth pigweed.
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