Weed Management and Crop Injury When Intercropping Melons and Cotton

Growers often seek new production practices to maximize their profits.  Conventionally, this may be accomplished via cultivar selection, pest management, proper fertility, and a number of cultural practices.  However, some innovative growers in Tift County Georgia have taken a different approach by intercropping cantaloupe and cotton.  Typically, growers transplant cantaloupe in mid-April and harvest in mid to late June. Once cantaloupe harvest is complete, growers may plant grain sorghum.  Returns on sorghum are often marginal, so growers have sought other means to generate revenue.   Cantaloupe and cotton intercropping has shown promise at the farm level.  

While successful weed management in this intercropping system has been accomplished mainly through hand weeding, weed control efficiency may be increased using herbicides.  Although herbicides are used in monocultures of cucurbits and cotton, very little is known concerning the influence of herbicides used in cucurbits on cotton. Therefore, two separate experiments were conducted in 2011 to evaluate potential herbicide programs when intercropping cantaloupe and cotton or watermelon and cotton.  Each experiment included two cucurbit planting dates, four cotton planting dates, and 3 herbicide programs.  Weed control and crop response to these herbicide programs will be reported.