The state of Tennessee has just received a new 24c special needs label for Reflex herbicide use in cotton. It reads as follows:

After Reflex application, a minimum of 0.5 inch of rainfall or overhead irrigation must occur before planting cotton on medium or fine-textured soils.

The previous 24c we were working under with Reflex in cotton stated that 14 days and a 0.5 inch of rainfall or overhead irrigation must occur before planting cotton on medium or fine-textured soils. The injury one sees with Reflex in cotton is caused by splashing the herbicide onto the emerging cotton. Once the herbicide is watered into the soil, that splash injury can no longer take place. That is one of the reasons for the change in the label. The other reason is that if Reflex is applied 14 days before planting, and particularly if cotton planting is delayed beyond that, the length of residual weed control into the early cotton growing season is meager. This new label should make using Reflex for residual Palmer control in cotton much more effective.

Of course the full federal label states that Reflex can be used Pre emergence on course soils. This has not changed and Reflex can still be used Pre on sandy soils. The cotton growers last year who used Reflex pre-emergence on their sandy soils saw about 4 weeks plus of residual Palmer control. Some were able to apply Dual Magnum on 1 lf cotton before the Reflex gave out and extend the residual Palmer control well into the growing season. In a few cases where there was no emerged Palmer, some of these growers did not need to apply Ignite over the top and were able to stretch the residual weed control until they could run the hooded sprayers.