Americot + NextGen = Beltwide Options

By Jim.Robinson|May 28, 2009

Americot, Inc. acquired the NexGen lines from Stoneville in the seed deal of ‘07, and Americot General Manager Terry Campbell says, “Adding NexGen doubled the number of products we can now offer growers. The breeding program is extensive. We have and continue to develop cottons that address the local needs of growers in the Southeast, Mid-South and Southwest.”

This year, Campbell says that even with the reduced U.S. cotton acreage he’s “pretty proud” of the company’s performance. Based on information from USDA, he says, “We calculate that our market share in the Southwest region was about 10% and we were satisfied with that performance.”

In the Mid-South and Southeast, this was the commercial introductory year for AM 1550 B2RF. In 2006 and 2007 breeder trials across 46 locations, AM 1550 B2RF finished number one in yield in Tennessee, north Arkansas and Missouri, averaging 1,400 pounds per acre, according to company data.

The Americot flagship in the Southwest is AM 1532 B2RF that is well suited for irrigated as well as non-irrigated acres. Also there was a limited introduction of two new NexGen varieties — NG 3348 B2RF and NG 3410 RF. NG 3348 B2RF is a Bollgard II/Roundup Ready Flex variety, while NG 3410 RF is a Roundup Ready Flex variety.

NG 3410 is a storm-proof variety and has good Verticillium wilt tolerance. “We have quite a bit in seed production and we look forward to having a good supply in 2009,” Campbell says.