Deltapine Announces Three New Varieties for the Class of 13
December 20, 2012 Monsanto announced recently that three new cotton varieties are being commercialized for the Deltapine Class of 13. Evaluated by nearly 200 cotton farmers in the Deltapine New Product Evaluator (NPE) program this season, the three new varieties will join high-yielding Deltapine lineup in time for the 2013 growing season.
“The Deltapine NPE program has built a reputation as the industry’s premiere variety evaluation and commercialization program,” said Keylon Gholston, Deltapine Cotton Products Manager at Monsanto. “These three new varieties – DP 1311 B2RF, DP 1321 B2RF and DP 1359 B2RF – demonstrated outstanding potential to improve yield and fiber quality performance in key markets. They will fit in well with the existing Deltapine variety lineup that consists of industry-leading products such as DP 1044 B2RF, DP 1219 B2RF and DP 1252 B2RF.”
The new DP 1311 B2RF is an early-maturity variety for the upper and central Mid-South. Evaluated in the program as 11R124B2R2, it has shown very good storm resistance, outstanding yield potential and significantly better mic than DP 0912 B2RF.
“This was the best cotton I had in my 2012 NPE plot,” said Don Lynn of Kennett, MO. “It’s a shorter variety, really compact. I like the stalk size and it was easy to pick. It is a variety that stands up better and yields very well. It yielded over 1,500 lbs/acre in my test plot. I think the combination of yield and earliness will make it an excellent fit for the upper Delta.”
The new DP 1321 B2RF is an early-mid maturity variety for the upper Mid-South, upper Southeast and Texas markets. Evaluated in the program as 11R112B2R2, it has shown exceptionally high yield potential and better stability, storm resistance and verticillium wilt tolerance than DP 0912 B2RF.
“Looking at it and growing it reminded me a lot of DP 0912 B2RF, which has always done well here,” said Johnny Lindley of Memphis, TX. “It was very vigorous, coming out of the ground quickly and growing off well. They said it had a light hairy leaf type, but that did not seem to be an issue for us. It defoliated well. It was planted on May 2 and on August 28 it appeared to be ready for harvest while other varieties were still making cotton. It was a tough year and this variety hung in there and made a lot of cotton. It averaged 2,093 lbs/acre – the highest yielder in my NPE plot.”
The new DP 1359 B2RF is a full-season variety for Arizona and West Texas. Evaluated in the program as 11R159B2R2, it has shown to be very responsive to high-yield environments and outstanding high yield potential. This variety will need aggressive PGR management during the pre-bloom stage.
Jerry Rovey of Buckeye, AZ evaluated the product in his NPE plots two years in a row and has been impressed. It shined in 2011 and followed up with a great performance in 2012.
“2012 was a tough year,” said Rovey. “We had a two week stretch with extreme heat that put a damper on our yield potential. In a really tough 2012 season with extreme heat, this variety went over 4 bales/acre. Considering the conditions, I was very pleased with the production, especially when I looked back on 2011. In a slightly better year, it will really make cotton. It’s a variety with a lot of yield potential. It’s a variety that can get tall, but if you’re aggressive early in the season, it can be managed. Be aggressive with the plant growth regulator. It’s a clean-picking variety that I think will be a good fit for us.”
In west Texas, Blaine Nichols has also had two years of positive experience with DP 1359 B2RF.
“I wasn’t sure about this variety once it began to open up, but after it was stripped, you could see that it performed very well and I was pleased with the results,” said Nichols of Seminole, TX.
Wrapping up its fifth season, the NPE program has allowed Deltapine to commercialize cotton varieties that offer true yield and fiber quality advantages over other commercial lines in all regions of the Cotton 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 Gholston. “These farmers are helping Deltapine continue in its commitment to bringing better-performing, NPE-proven varieties to the market, improving the overall yield average and fiber quality for the entire industry.”
To learn more about Deltapine cotton varieties, go to www.deltapine.com.
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