Weed problem in cotton production in Sirnak district of Turkey

Cotton growing, one of the most profitable crops in field crops, has increased considerably in Sirnak province in recent years. Weeds are the most critical problem in cotton, which is one of the leading products recently. This survey was conducted to investigate the level of farmers' knowledge of cultivation, the current situation of their weed problems, and their approach to solving weed problems with their knowledge, equipment, and experience. For this purpose, in the villages of Silopi and Cizre districts of Şırnak Province where cotton cultivation was conducted, a total of 90 farmers were interviewed face to face in October–November 2017 and a total of 30 questionnaires were directed to the farmers. According to the results of the survey, it has been understood that cotton farmers are at a moderate level in agricultural education, however, are satisfied with cotton growing due to increased irrigation and governmental incentives. Nevertheless, the most important problems were pest control issues, and there were too many weed related problems. The farmers were stated that the most common weeds were nutgrass (Cyperus rotundus L.),common cocklebur (Xanthium strumariumL.), field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis L.) and Johnson grass (Sorghum halepense(L.) Pers). In order to solve the problems related to weeds, it was understood that the farmers prefer to take advantage of the agricultural institutions and engineers, they use hoeing and chemical methods (herbicides) together with theweed control and take the herbicides according to the recommendations of the District Directorate of Agriculture. Before harvesting, almost all of the cotton farmers used defoliants. They also stated that they radically solved the problems of the herbicides they used. In conclusion, it was seen that farmers in Şırnak Province are satisfied with cotton growing with shortcomings and difficulties.