Peter Dotray

Biography

Dr. Peter Dotray received his B.S degree from the University of Minnesota in Agronomy in 1986, his M.S. degree from Washington State University in Agronomy in 1989, and his Ph.D. degree from the University of Minnesota in Agronomy in 1993. He joined the Texas Tech faculty in 1993 and is currently the Leidigh Professor of Weed Science. He holds a joint appointment between Texas Tech University (52%), Texas A&M AgriLife Research (24%), and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service (24%). His responsibilities at Texas Tech include teaching Principles of Weed Science, Modes and Mechanisms of Herbicide Action, and RaiderReady: The Freshman Seminar. Dr. Dotray has completed 24 Master of Science students, six Ph.D. students, and eight M.S. non-thesis students.  He currently has 2 graduate students in his program.  Dr. Dotray has an active research program examining weed control systems in cotton, sorghum, and peanut, and a variety of minor crops. He serves as the Extension Weed Specialist in the Texas High Plains.

Research Interest

My research interests include developing effective and economical weed management systems in cotton and other crops grown in rotation with cotton.  The development and use of herbicide-resistant varieties has improved weed management strategies in cotton, but effective and long term success in weed control systems must involve herbicides with different modes of action, as well as other weed management strategies such as mechanical, physical, cultural, and biological control. The use of reduced tillage systems provides new challenges in weed management because of the difficulty of incorporating preplant herbicides and the need to start clean.