Science: Cotton Killer

In the counties of Wharton and Matagorda on the Texas coastal plain, cotton growers were dismayed to find their cotton plants blighted by a mysterious disease. Bolls were deformed, leaves twisted. Altogether 10,000 acres were affected.

From Texas A. & M. College, the county agents called in Dr. A. A. Dunlap, plant pathologist. The trouble was caused, he said, by 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) the miracle weedkiller (TIME, June 30). Further sleuthing uncovered the source: it had come from rice farms which planes had dusted with the chemical to kill broadleaved weeds. From the rice fields it had drifted, sometimes as far as 15 miles, to the cotton fields. If possible, 2,4-D should be sprayed rather than dusted. If it has to be dusted, it should be mixed with oil to prevent drifting.