Bayer Rises To The Top
May 28, 2009 Bayer CropScience’s FiberMax varieties appeared on the scene less than a decade ago and began a meteoric rise in popularity, particularly in the Southwest.
By 2006, FiberMax had become the second most popular brand nationwide. Bayer’s purchase of Stoneville from Monsanto in 2007 gave Bayer a bigger presence in the Southeast and Mid-South, and with both the FiberMax and Stoneville brands now under the Bayer umbrella, Bayer has moved to the top in total market share with 46.3%.
FiberMax has two varieties with a sizable market share in Texas – FM 9058F (16.02%) and FM 9063B2F (14.82%). In total, FiberMax has a 67.63% market share in Texas.
Nationally, Stoneville’s ST 4554B2RF is the number one Bollgard II/Roundup Ready Flex variety with a 7.9% share, while FM 9058F is the number one Flex-only variety with 7.1%.
“In West Texas, FM 9063B2F set a new standard for fiber quality,” says Jeff Brehmer, Bayer’s U.S. marketing manager FiberMax & Stoneville cotton. “FM 9063B2F and FM 9180B2F are going to be very similar in fiber quality in a true Upland cotton on the High Plains. They are very consistent in yield and fiber quality. They are tough to beat.
“For Stoneville, the benchmark is ST 4554B2RF,” he continues. “What makes it the number one Bollgard II/Roundup Ready Flex variety on the market is its consistency across a wide geography.”
A new release in 2008 was ST 4498B2RF. “It may give a couple more nodes of growth over the ST 4554B2RF,” Brehmer says. “It’s a great companion and it could knock 4554B2RF out of the top spot in the future.”
One of the reasons for Bayer’s rapid movement upward in market share has been that it has shown the ability and agility to bring new and better varieties to the market quickly. “We’ve been fortunate to be able to bring varieties to the market that are equal to or better in fiber quality as we transition into new traits,” says Brehmer. “There are some varieties in CAP (Cotton Agronomic Performance) trials that we haven’t named yet, but we know that they are very promising.”
As resistance to glyphosate continues to grow as a serious problem in the Southeast and Mid-South, Bayer is looking at three experimental Liberty Link/Bollgard II varieties with the maturities for those areas.
“Pending regulatory approval, we’ll be bringing two to three GlyTol varieties to the market in 2009,” Brehmer says. “If you look at a yield index based on FM 9058F, the early indications are that they will be at +100%. That means that the new GlyTol varieties will have yield equal to or better than FM 9058F.”
Bayer will announce which experimental varieties will be commercially available in 2009 in January.
For more information on the Bayer CropScience cotton seed brands, see: www.cottonexperts.com
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Bayer CropScience’s FiberMax and Stoneville brands are number one in combined market share.
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