Mission:
The mission of the Crop Production Systems Research Unit’s six research projects are to provide needed information on the development of: improved crop production systems; irrigation technology; agrochemical application technology; managing herbicide resistance; and addressing soil and water quality issues. Cropping systems in the Mid South region are constantly changing and thus new problems in managing weeds, nutrients, and water use under conservation management practices for cost effective and sustainable crop production. Current corn, cotton, and soybean production has relied on the use of the glyphosate-resistant systems, however systems such as glufosinate-resistance are available in these crops and other herbicide-resistant genotypes will be available in the near future. Subsequently, increased resources have focused on the managing level of glyphosate resistance that has developed in horseweed, palmer amaranth, Italian ryegrass, johnsongrass, and other weed species. The quantity of water resources available to Mississippi Delta is declining due to lower water tables resulting from expanded irrigation use, thus water conserving irrigation management needs to be available to the growers. Surface water throughout the region continues to be classified as impaired and new management systems need to address minimizing pesticide, nutrient and sediment loss. Together these research projects will be working to achieve a goal of safe food and fiber production and potential biofuels. These production systems will be economically viable and environmentally sound using advanced technologies.