Palmer Amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri) Control in Dicamba-Tolerant Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) when Applied with Various Dicamba + Insecticide Tank-Mixtures

Abstract

Postemergence herbicide application timings for Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri) often coincide with foliar insecticide applications in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum). Combining multiple pesticides into a single application increases efficiency while reducing overall application cost. Multiple foliar insecticides are now labeled for dicamba tank-mixes. However, there is limited literature with respect to efficacy of dicamba on Palmer amaranth control when applied with insecticides. Field experiments were conducted from 2018 to 2020 to evaluate the effect of carrier volume and insecticide on the efficacy of dicamba (XtendiMaxTM with VaporGripTM) to control Palmer amaranth in XtendFlex™ cotton production systems. Dicamba was tank-mixed with acephate and dimethoate to four-leaf cotton and with thiamethoxam and sulfoxaflor just prior to bloom. Applications were made at carrier volumes of 140 and 280 L ha-1 and with a single spray droplet size of 800 µm. Palmer amaranth control 7 d after treatment was negatively impacted when applications included dimethoate; however, no corresponding response in seedcotton yield was observed relative to dicamba applied alone. However, when pooled over carrier volume, applications containing dicamba + acephate resulted in higher seedcotton yield than applications of dicamba + dimethoate. Additionally, pre-bloom applications of dicamba + thiamethoxam or sulfoxaflor increased Palmer amaranth efficacy relative to dicamba applied alone. Although certain insecticides are known to increase herbicidal crop response, the impact of insecticides on herbicide efficacy to control specific weed species is largely unknown. Therefore, we conclude that multiple dicamba + acephate, thiamethoxam, or sulfoxaflor tank-mixtures provide similar control of Palmer amaranth compared to dicamba alone.