To better understand risk management in weed control, we must first understand how much weed competition costs the cotton producer. In the 1984 Beltwide Cotton Production Research Conference proceedings, weed control experts throughout the cottonbelt estimated that losses due to weeds are equal to approximately 8% of production. These vary from a low of approximately 1% in California to a high of 12% in Missouri.

Total bales lost in the cottonbelt are estimated to be 522,800. At a price of 60›/lb., this equals almost 157 million dollars lost due to weeds in cotton. These losses occur even though most producers use herbicides intensively in their cotton production.

In the last 25 years weed control in cotton has advanced from almost entirely manual labor operations to primarily chemical programs. In some areas, especially in the mid-south and southeastern states, more herbicides are used in cotton production than any other major row crop.