Deltapine Raises the Bar
December 22, 2009 Now that the last bag of Deltapine DP 555 BG/RR has been sold, one of the all-time greats is gone for good as a commercially available variety.
Triple Nickel has been the most popular variety in the U.S. for several years and Monsanto’s challenge since the EPA decision to phase out Bollgard technology has been to find varieties that are not just as good as, but better than, the legendary 555.
In its Deltapine Class of ’09 are DP 0912 B2RF, DP 0920 B2RF, DP 0924 B2RF, DP 0935 B2RF and DP 0949 B2RF — all Bollgard II with Roundup Ready Flex varieties that the company believes are, in fact, better than 555.
“In our testing of the Class of ‘09 varieties, we captured yield data and followed that through fiber-quality testing,” says Dr. Dave Albers, Monsanto cotton germplasm development lead. “Across the Belt, these varieties out-yielded market standards like DP 555 BG/RR.”
According to USDA data, DP 0924 B2RF and DP 0935 B2RF were the second and fourth most popular of all Deltapine varieties after only one year of commercial availability.
For 2010, Monsanto expects to have good supplies of all five of the Deltapine Class of ‘09 varieties.
This year, 140 growers began taking 13 variety candidates for the Deltapine Class of ’10 out for a test drive as part of the New Product Exposure (NPE) program. By allowing the individual farmer to control all aspects of the trials, they are helping to identify the top-performing varieties.
“Early results with the candidates for the Deltapine Class of ‘10, which will include genetic advancements and the best traits available in cotton — Genuity Bollgard II with Roundup Ready Flex — are showing outstanding potential for significant yield increases over (DP 555 BG/RR),” Albers says. “We anticipate significant yield increases with varieties that fit not just the lower Southeast and Mid-South like DP 555 did, but also the upper reaches of the Mid-South and Southeast, as well as in the Southwestern markets.”
The commercially available Deltapine Class of ‘10 varieties will be named in December. Seed production was in place for all 13 candidates this year so limited supplies of Class of ‘10 varieties will be available in 2010.
“The Class of ’09 and the Class of ’10 are very unique and different germplasms,” says Keylon Gholston, Deltapine cotton products manager for Monsanto. “Deltapine has a huge germplasm base built up over 100 years. Monsanto has the molecular markers that allow us to move forward with certain characteristics that we want in a variety. It allows the breeders to indentify the lines that don’t have the characteristics we want and get them out of the way so we can focus on the varieties that do. That means we can bring varieties to market quicker.
“A grower now has the opportunity to plant a variety with higher yield or higher fiber quality two or three years quicker than he would have been able to.”
For more information on Deltapine varieties, see: www.cottoncommunity.com
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Deltapine Class of ‘10 Candidates
Deltapine’s Class of ‘09
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