Deltapine Names the Class of 12
February 13, 2012 Monsanto announced at a special summit in Charleston, SC, that three varieties are being commercialized for the Deltapine Class of 12. Evaluated by more than 200 cotton farmers in the Deltapine New Product Evaluator (NPE) program this season, the three new commercial varieties offer yield and quality improvements over current commercial varieties in target markets.
The new DP 1212 B2RF is an early-maturing variety for the Northern High Plains of Texas and other early-season markets. It has similar yield and fit to DP 0912 B2RF, but with even better fiber quality. Evaluated in the NPE program as 10R013, its plant size and management recommendations are similar to smaller, easier-to-manage genotypes.
“We had a planter malfunction when planting the 10R013, which resulted in 37,000 plants per acre — a bad stand,” said Blaine Nichols of Seminole, TX. “It still ended up looking good. It had good turnout and excellent fiber quality, going into the loan at the second-highest value of all of my Deltapine cotton. It is definitely one worth looking at again in 2012.”
In the Northern Mississippi Delta region, NPE farmers also experienced positive performance from DP 1212 B2RF.
“It was the best variety in our test,” said Don Lynn of Kennett, MO. “It made 1,099 pounds per acre and that was probably as good as, if not better than, DP 0912 B2RF.”
The new DP 1219 B2RF is broadly adapted across Texas with a great combination of yield potential and excellent fiber quality potential. Its early maturity fits the Northern High Plains and Panhandle growing regions, and tends to shift to a mid-maturity range in the Southern High Plains and East Texas. Evaluated by farmers as 10R011 in the NPE program, DP 1219 B2RF has the potential to fit most environments and management systems found in Texas, plus has a fit on deep, sandy soils of the upper Southeast and Arizona for seed production.
“This variety showed excellent early-season vigor, jumping out of the ground and never looking back,” said Dan Krieg of Lubbock, Texas. “We had many challenges this season in West Texas — severe drought and heat, and cold fronts in October that brought tremendous wind storms to the area. The 10R011 was the only variety that did not shed 100 to 200 pounds of lint during those wind events. I liked the maturity of this variety. It had large, showy bolls, stripped clean and had excellent fiber quality. It made a good yield considering the season we had. I think it is a variety with potential to perform well in West Texas.”
The new DP 1252 B2RF fits well in irrigated fields and productive soils in the full-season markets of the Mid-South and Southeast. Evaluated by farmers as 10R052, the new DP 1252 B2RF is very responsive to management and yield environment.
NPE crop consultant and BCT Gin Manager Steve Bullard of Valdosta, GA, saw the variety the past two seasons.
“It looks to fruit well from top to bottom,” he said. “I think it will be a good complement to the Deltapine varieties DP1048 B2RF, DP 1050 B2RF and DP 1137 B2RF, which are the highest-yielding varieties for our area.”
In Leary, GA., NPE farmer Jimmy Webb also sees potential in DP 1052 B2RF.
“I drove the harvester to pick the NPE field this year and 10R052, to me, stood out from the rest of the varieties in the field which included Class of 12 candidates, competitor varieties as well as our main variety, DP 1048 B2RF,” said Webb. “It seemed to handle stress well and yielded almost 1,390 pounds per acre, which was pretty close to our DP 1048 B2RF. This new variety is certainly worth looking at again.”
The Deltapine Class of 12 cotton varieties were announced to the NPE farmer-cooperators at the summit, In its fourth season, the NPE program has allowed Deltapine to commercialize cotton varieties that offer true yield advantages over other commercial lines in all regions of the Belt.
“The NPE farmers play a valuable role for both Deltapine and the cotton industry, and their efforts and hard work are rewarded at the summit,” said Keylon Gholston, Deltapine Cotton Product Manager. “These farmers are helping Deltapine continue in its commitment to bringing better-performing varieties to the market, improving the overall yield average and fiber quality for the entire industry.”
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