What are Defoliants and Desiccants?
Simply put, defoliants and desiccants are chemicals used to remove leaves from plants, such as a crop or weeds in an infested field. In cotton production, for example, leaf removal has several advantages: • The cotton crop may be harvested earlier; • Quality grades are higher because of a lower content of leaf trash; • Leaf removal facilitates air movement and, thus, drier conditions, which are favorable for boll-opening and less conducive to the development of boll rot; • Leaf removal reduces harborage sites of insects that reduce lint quality; and, to some degree, • Reduced lodging of the crop.
