Cotton growers in the Mid-South and Southeast face unique challenges in cotton production, from resistant weeds to nematodes, worm pests to drought. In 2013, Bayer CropScience commercialized two Stoneville varieties that helped growers address these issues.
These new Stoneville varieties excelled in Cotton Agronomic Performance (CAP) trials across the Cotton Belt, but on-farm results prove the true value of a new variety. Last season, growers from Arkansas to Georgia raved about the high yields and ease of management they experienced with ST 4946GLB2 and ST 6448GLB2.
Michael Morgan farms 5,500 acres near Piggott, AR. In 2012, he was a Bayer CropScience Cotton Belt Challenge winner for his region with an irrigated yield of 1,865 pounds with FM 1944GLB2. In 2013, he added ST 4946GLB2 to his acres because of its yield potential and herbicide trait package that allows Liberty herbicide and glyphosate applications for weed control.
“We tried ST 4946GLB2 last year, and it performed really well for us,” he said. “It was easy to manage, responded well to PGRs and kept a uniform height the whole year across the entire field. And, it was nice to be able to spray Liberty when we had a pigweed problem.”
ST 4946GLB2 also demonstrates some of the best nematode tolerance available, something growers need in sandier nematode-infested fields. An earlier maturity also benefits growers in Morgan’s area, the northeastern corner of Arkansas and the Missouri Bootheel.
“ST 4946GLB2 is a little earlier variety, which is good for our area,” Morgan said. “And we’re also excited about its nematode tolerance. We also have some fields with nematode problems, so ST 4946GLB2 will be a big help in solving some of our nematode issues in those fields.”
Rodney Joiner farms 1,325 acres of cotton in Colquitt County, GA, and consults on another 12,000 acres of cotton. He planted ST 6448GLB2 on his farm last year because of its full-season maturity and high-yield potential on dryland acres.
“We’re always looking for a full season variety to help overcome some of the environmental circumstances we run into during a growing season,” said Joiner. “ST 6448GLB2 came out the ground growing, put a strong root system underneath and yielded better than any other variety in my county on dryland acres.”
To complement ST 4946GLB2 and ST 6448GLB2, Stoneville announces three new varieties for 2014 to help cotton growers manage some of these most difficult challenges. All new Stoneville varieties incorporate stacked GlyTol LibertyLink technology for a wide window of over-the-top applications of Liberty herbicide and glyphosate. Two of the new Stoneville varieties also include TwinLink technology with two Bt genes for season-long protection against lepidopteran pests. TwinLink comes in a GlyTol LibertyLink TwinLink (GLT) trait package that is only available in FiberMax and Stoneville cotton seed.
New Stoneville varieties include:
ST 5032GLT is an early-medium maturity, GlyTol LibertyLink TwinLink variety with a strong yield potential and excellent fiber quality.
ST 5289GLT is a medium-maturing variety similar to ST 5288B2F, the top variety planted in the south Delta last season, but it adds the GlyTol LibertyLink TwinLink trait package. ST 5289GLT has excellent yield potential, especially on marginal soil types, and good fiber quality.
ST 4747GLB2 features the GlyTol LibertyLink Bollgard IItrait package, broad adaptation and one of the earliest maturities in the Stoneville portfolio. With two years in the Cotton Agronomic Performance trials, ST 4747GLB2 set new yield standards for an early season variety, with improved fiber length and micronaire in the Stoneville brand.