Spurred anoda (Anoda cristata) interference in wide row and ultra narrow row cotton

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted in 2000, 2001, and 2002 at Stoneville, MS, to determine the effect of spurred anoda interference on yield loss of two cotton cultivars, ‘Delta Pine 5415’ and ‘Pima S-6’, grown under wide (1 m) (WR) and ultra narrow (0.25 m) row (UNR) spacings. The relationship between spurred anoda density and dry weight per plot was linear each year. At a spurred anoda density of 8 m−2, spurred anoda dry weight per plot was 507, 322, and 777 g m−2in 2000, 2001, and 2002, respectively. However, spurred anoda did not interfere with seed cotton yield in 2001, which was probably attributable to the low branch development in that year. Yield losses exceeded 55% at a spurred anoda density of 8 m−2compared with controls in both WR and UNR. The effect of spurred anoda density on boll numbers was nearly identical in 2000 and 2002, regardless of cotton cultivar and row spacing. Boll weights decreased in response to spurred anoda interference. Spurred anoda interference resulted in a decrease in cotton branch dry weight in WR but not in UNR. The yield decrease as a result of spurred anoda interference in WR was due to reduction in boll retention or fruiting sites (predicated on a decrease in branch weight). However, in UNR, the yield decrease was due to plant mortality; the plant density of both cotton cultivars decreased by one plant for each additional spurred anoda, but the yield per plant for surviving plants remained constant. Neither WR nor UNR cotton had significant advantage in response to spurred anoda interference. The decreased boll weight observed in UNR, and the failure to increase boll numbers m−2to compensate for decreased boll weight in UNR compared with WR, may limit its appeal to cotton producers.