A study on Mississippi cotton farms indicated no yield reduction on Roundup Ready cotton if the Roundup Ultra label is followed and use normal caution used in post-directing the herbicide.
All of the Roundup Ultra-treated plots received at least one application over the top followed by a directed spray application. Plots not treated with Roundup received preplant incorporated or preplant incorporated/pre-emergence herbicides followed by needed directed sprays. Each of the plots received a residual layby application.
County agents noticed no difference due to treatment in plant height, total nodules, number of vegetative nodes or nodes above white flower with plant mapping. Averaged across all fields, there was an effect on boll numbers in first positions, according to Will McCarty, Mississippi extension.
"The Roundup-treated plants tended to produce more bolls in the second and third positions and fewer bolls in first positions than the conventionally treated plots," McCarty says.
Averaged across all locations, the Roundup Ultra-treated and conventional plots produced 931 and 920 lbs of lint/acre respectively.
Minnesota Farm Machinery Economic Cost Estimates for 2000, a University of Minnesota Extension Service publication, can help you negotiate custom rates, set up machinery sharing arrangements, make buying decisions and develop crop enterprise budgets.
"The cost estimates won't represent an individual's cost," says Bill Lazarus, economist and author of the publication. "Differences in buying power, repair programs, average annual use and replacement programs should be considered when making adjustments."
The publication is available on the Web (www.extension.umn.edu/finance) or at state county extension offices. Or, call 800-876-8636; ask for publication 6696.