Weed Control and Crop Tolerance When Intercropping Watermelon and Cotton

Traditionally, spring planted watermelon in southern Georgia are harvested by July allowing that land to be planted to sorghum.  Returns on sorghum following watermelon are often marginal, prompting growers to seek other potential crops and strategies that may generate greater revenue; one such strategy is a watermelon-cotton intercropping system.  Land preparation, fertilizer, and irrigation are in place for the watermelon; therefore, intercropping cotton could potentially increase resource efficiency and improve grower profit.  However, a major impediment to intercropping systems in Georgia is the management of glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth following watermelon harvest. Therefore research was conducted to (1) Identify herbicide systems to manage troublesome weeds in watermelon-cotton intercropping production and to (2) Determine the profitability of watermelon-cotton intercropping versus a monoculture of watermelon or cotton.