GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF COTTON (Gossypium hirsutum L.) AS AFFECTED BY DIFFERENT METHODS OF Pendimethalin APPLICATION

Weed management is one of the most important factorsin obtaining maximum crop productivity. An experiment wascarried out consecutively for two years at the Research Farm ofCentral Cotton Research Institute, Multan during 2007 and2008 to investigate the most appropriate and the safestmethod of pendimethalin application and its effects on % weedcontrol, seed cotton yield and its components. Cotton cultivarCIM-496 was sown during the 3rd week of May in both theseasons on silty loam soil. Five different methods wereevaluated which included application of pendimethalin 33% @2.5 litres ha-1 (0.825 kg ha-1) on prepared land and incorporatedinto the soil followed by making bed furrow, application onprepared seed bed before making bed furrow, application ondry bed furrow before dibbling and applying irrigation,immediately after planting in standing water and 24 hours afterplanting in moist soil. Results indicated that application ofpendimethalin 33% on dry bed furrow before applying irrigationproduced 82.5 % broad leaf and 84.1 % narrow leaf weedcontrol which ultimately led towards obtaining seed cottonyield of 2689 kg ha-1 which was 115.1% higher than the weedycheck. However, spray on dry soil and incorporation, whichgave 2547 kg ha-1 was also statistically at par with the topranking treatment. Thus, both these treatments arerecommended for adoption, in order to harvest better seedcotton yields.