Quality Fiber is Key to Profitability

As Southeast cotton growers prepare to start the 2008 planting season, they must decide which cotton varieties and technologies will bring them the greatest profit potential.

Keith Lewis, who double-crops 600 acres of cotton behind wheat near Nashville, GA, said he will consider planting several cottonseed varieties this year, including FiberMax FM 960B2R.

"It has performed exceptionally well for us the past several years," Lewis said. "We'll definitely plant it again this year."

He is no stranger to growing premium cotton, either. In 2005, he was one of the winners at the inaugural Georgia Cotton Quality Awards, which recognizes growers who produce high-quality crops.

"We can grow cotton here in Georgia just as good as anywhere else in the world," Lewis said.

Jeff Brehmer, U.S. FiberMax marketing manager, said newer FiberMax varieties are achieving even higher yields while maintaining excellent fiber quality under typical Southeast growing conditions. In particular, FM 1735LLB2 and FM 1740B2F performed well in 2007 trials, he said.

"The yield and fiber quality potential for these varieties is outstanding," Brehmer said. "With FM 1735LLB2 in particular, it yielded nearly four bales per acre in some of the Official Variety Trials from Alabama and Georgia."

For more information on the complete 2008 lineup of FiberMax varieties, contact your local Bayer CropScience representative or visit www.FiberMax.com.