Tolerance of Cottonwood to Certain Herbicides

Abstract

The decreasing supply of cottonwood (Populus deltoides Bartr.) to meet the demands of pulp and paper and lumber industries has stimulated considerable interest in the cultivation of this species. Natural regeneration of cottonwood occurs mainly on bare, moist, mineral soil such as new bars and silt deposits along major rivers. Current river stabilization and flood control measures have greatly reduced natural sites for cottonwood rept'oduction, thus indicating a future shortage of cottonwood. Artificial regeneration practices must be perfected if future demand for this species is to be met. Cottonwood can be easily reproduced vegetatively from cuttings if the weed and grass competition is controlled during the first growing season. Presently, grass and weed competition is eliminated by mechanical methods such as cross-disking, row plowing, and hand hoeing. Control of competing vegetation with herbicides offers an opportunity to reduce regeneration cost if the chemicals do not cause appreciable injury to the cottonwood. Several workers have used herbicides with variable results for first year weed control in cottonwood. Research workers in the Mississippi River Delta have reported poor results from the use of herbicides for weed control in cottonwood. A number of new effective agronomic herbicides are now available and this study was conducted to determine the tolerance of cottonwood to certain pre- and postemergence herbicides at varying rates so that field studies might be limited to those compounds which are not injurious to cottonwood.

Citation

Martin, James W.; Carter, Mason C. 1966. Tolerance of Cottonwood to Certain Herbicides. Bulletin AESAU-B-372. Auburn, AL: Auburn University, Agricultural Experiment Station. 17 p.