COTTON IS AN IMPORTANT CROP IN THE UNITED STATES (US) AND TEXAS IS THE LEADING PRODUCER OF THIS COMMODITY, PLANTED ON ABOUT 7.8 MILLION ACRES IN 2018 (NASS 2019), WITH A DIRECT SALES VALUE OF $2.7 BILLION AND AN ECONOMIC IMPACT OF $24 BILLION ANNUALLY INCLUSIVE OF ALL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES (OTA 2019). IN ADDITION TO THE FIBER, COTTONSEED IS AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF THE INDUSTRY, WHICH IS OFTEN OVERLOOKED. IN 2018, TEXAS PRODUCED ABOUT 2 MILLION TONS OF COTTONSEED, WITH A SALES VALUE OF $341 MILLION (NASS 2019). THOUGH THE MAJORITY (~97%) OF THE CURRENT US ORGANIC COTTON IS PRODUCED IN TEXAS, THE ACREAGE IS STILL VERY LOW (APPROX. 14,000 ACRES, ONLY 0.2% OF ALL COTTON ACRES IN TX) AND IS MAINLY CONCENTRATED IN THE TEXAS HIGH PLAINS. THERE IS A HIGH POTENTIAL FOR EXPANDING ORGANIC COTTON PRODUCTION IN THE STATE, PARTICULARLY IN THE CENTRAL AND GULF COAST TEXAS REGIONS, BUT KNOWLEDGE GAPS EXIST FOR TRANSITIONING FROM CONVENTIONAL TO ORGANIC COTTON, INCLUDING ORGANIC DEFOLIATION METHODS, CONSERVATION TILLAGE, AND COVER CROP SYSTEMS FOR WEED MANAGEMENT, SOIL NUTRIENT DYNAMICS AND GREENHOUSE GAS MITIGATION POTENTIAL. THE OVERARCHING GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO HELP BRIDGE THE KNOWLEDGE GAPS THROUGH INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AND OUTREACH.RESEARCH: DEVELOPING ORGANICALLY-APPROVED DEFOLIATION METHODS CAN GREATLY BENEFIT ORGANIC COTTON GROWERS. IN THIS REGARD, SOME OF THE NONSYNTHETIC NATURAL PRODUCT HERBICIDES DEVELOPED FOR USE IN OTHER ORGANIC SYSTEMS CAN BE EVALUATED FOR THEIR UTILITY AS A DEFOLIANT IN COTTON. OMRI ENSURES THAT THE CONSTITUENTS OF THE PRODUCTS MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE NOP GUIDELINES, BUT IT DOES NOT EVALUATE THE EFFICACY OF THE PRODUCTS FOR THEIR HERBICIDAL PROPERTIES. DIFFERENT CONCENTRATIONS AND COMBINATIONS OF PLANT ESSENTIAL OILS AND OTHER NATURAL PRODUCTS WILL BE TESTED FOR THEIR EFFECTIVENESS AS A DEFOLIANT FOR COTTON.WEEDS PRESENT THE MOST IMPORTANT CHALLENGE FOR ORGANIC CROP PRODUCTION, AND ECONOMICAL WEED MANAGEMENT IS TOUTED AS THE PRIME CONSTRAINT FOR TRANSITIONING TO ORGANIC AGRICULTURE (CAVIGELLI ET AL. 2008; POSNER ET AL. 2008; LIEBMAN AND DAVIS 2009). REMOVAL OF TILLAGE FROM ORGANIC PRODUCTION SYSTEMS WARRANTS THE DEVELOPMENT OF ROBUST NON-CHEMICAL WEED MANAGEMENT TACTICS. INTEGRATION OF COVER CROPS CAN PROVIDE EFFECTIVE WEED MANAGEMENT, IN ADDITION TO IMPROVING SOIL HEALTH AND PROVIDING OTHER ECOSYSTEM BENEFITS (TEASDALE 1996; GALLANDT ET AL. 1999; HARTWIG AND AMMON 2002). GROWERS CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE EXTENDED GROWING SEASON (SEP TO NOV) IN THE CENTRAL AND GULF COAST REGIONS AND PLANT A SHORT-DURATION COVER CROP AFTER COTTON HARVEST (TYPICALLY HARVESTED IN THE REGION BY THE END OF AUG) TO SUPPRESS POST-HARVEST RECRUITS OF PROBLEMATIC SUMMER-ANNUAL WEEDS SUCH AS PALMER AMARANTH (AMARANTHUS PALMERI), WATERHEMP (A. TUBERCULATUS), AND RAGWEED PARTHENIUM (PARTHENIUM HYSTEROPHORUS) THROUGH LIVE BIOMASS. FURTHER, LATE FALL-PLANTED WINTER COVER CROPS CAN FACILITATE IN-SEASON SUPPRESSION OF WINTER ANNUAL WEEDS THROUGHLIVE BIOMASS AND SUPPRESSION OF SUMMER ANNUAL WEEDS THROUGH COVER CROP RESIDUES.AGRONOMIC PRACTICES IN CENTRAL AND GULF COAST TEXAS ARE CURRENTLY DOMINATED BY INTENSIVE TILLAGE SYSTEMS (I.E. CONVENTIONAL TILLAGE). MANY ORGANIC FARMERS RELY ON TILLAGE AND ROW CULTIVATION FOR WEED MANAGEMENT (TEASDALE AND MIRSKY 2015). THIS POSES A GREAT CHALLENGE TO ORGANIC FARMING. THERE IS UNEQUIVOCAL RESEARCH EVIDENCE THAT TILLAGE AND REPEATED CULTIVATIONS DEGRADE SOIL QUALITY (WIENHOLD AND HALVORSON 1998; LAL 2015). LONG-TERM CONTINUOUS CULTIVATION ALSO LEADS TO SOIL EROSION, INCREASED EMISSION OF GHGS SUCH AS CO2, AND REDUCED CARBON SEQUESTRATION, IN ADDITION TO ADDED LABOR AND ENERGY COSTS.IN THIS RESEARCH, WE WILL EVALUATE VARIOUS SUMMER AS WELL AS WINTER COVER CROP SPECIES AND COMPARE CONVENTIONAL AND CONSERVATION TILLAGE SYSTEMS. OBSERVATIONS WILL INCLUDE SOIL MOISTURE DYNAMICS, WEED SUPPRESSION, SOIL FERTILITY, GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, AND CROP BIOMASS AND YIELD.OUTREACH AND EDUCATIONDEVELOPING AND DELIVERING PERTINENT OUTREACH ACTIVITIES IS IMPERATIVE TO PROVIDE CRITICAL PRODUCTION INFORMATION AND BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES TO GROWERS IN A TIMELY MANNER. DEMONSTRATION OF THE BENEFITS OF THESE BEST PRODUCTION PRACTICES ON YIELD AND ECONOMICS WILL PARTICULARLY ENTICE OTHER FARMERS CONSIDERING ON TRANSITIONING TO ORGANIC PRODUCTION. TO BE EFFECTIVE, THESE DEMONSTRATIONS SHOULD BE CONDUCTED IN PARTICIPATING GROWER FIELDS. THIS WILL ALLOW THE FARMERS TO SEE FOR THEMSELVES THE BENEFITS OF IMPROVED PRODUCTION PRACTICES, AND THE INFORMATION WILL SUBSEQUENTLY DISSEMINATE TO OTHER FARMERS THROUGH 'WORD OF MOUTH'. FURTHER, PROVIDING TRAINING AND SUPPORT ON ORGANIC CERTIFICATION PROCESS WILL ASSIST GROWERS AND OFFER A POSITIVE EXPERIENCE WHILE TRANSITIONING TO ORGANIC COTTON PRODUCTION. THERE IS A LACK OF EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL AND OUTREACH BULLETINS ON ORGANIC COTTON PRODUCTION. DEVELOPING ROBUST EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL ON DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF ORGANIC PRODUCTION WILL ALLOW THE GROWERS DEVELOP A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF THE BASICS OF ORGANIC PRODUCTION. ENGAGEMENT OF COUNTY EXTENSION AGENTS SHOULD BE AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF THE OUTREACH PLAN BECAUSE THEY ARE THE FIRST POINT OF CONTACT FOR INFORMATION BY THE GROWERS. ADDITIONALLY, TRAINING GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WITH ORGANIC PRODUCTION PRACTICES CAN PROVIDE LONG-TERM BENEFITS SINCE THESE STUDENTS ARE THE ONES WHO WILL GREATLY INFLUENCE THE FUTURE OF ORGANIC PRODUCTION, AS FARMERS, RENTED OPERATORS, FIELD AGRONOMISTS, RESEARCH SCIENTISTS, EXTENSION PERSONNEL, POLICY MAKERS, AS WELL AS PROGRESSIVE MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC. OUR OUTREACH AND EDUCATION PLAN WILL ADDRESS THESE CRITICAL ASPECTS.