ABSTRACT

Much of the cotton grown in Georgia is produced in the southern half of the state. Thirty five-fields from seven south Georgia counties were surveyed in early to mid-September 1992 to document weed infestation levels at harvest. The survey method consisted of randomly selecting five fields within each county, randomly selecting four sites two rows wide by 50 feet long within each field, and counting mature weeds within the measured area.

A total of 31 species were counted. Sicklepod, yellow nutsedge, and Florida beggarweed were the species most frequently observed. Texas panicum was the most common annual grass. Of the momingglories present, smallflower morningglory was the most common. Surprisingly, cocklebur was found in only 20 percent of surveyed fields. This unexpectedly reduced level of incidence may have been artificially low because of the survey technique, or possibly, cocklebur numbers have been overestimated in past years.

With one exception weed densities were relatively low. Most species were counted at densities below four per 100 row feet, suggesting relatively good weed control overall. Wild poinsettia, though it was detected in only one field, occurred at high levels, 18/100 row feet. This level of infestation is representative of wild poinsettia--it infests about 5 percent of the cotton acreage and where it is noticed, it usually occurs in high numbers.