Deltapine NPE Program Begins 15th Season of On-Farm Evaluation
May 9, 2022 Deltapine’s New Product Evaluator (NPE) program kicks off its 15th season in 2022 with on-farm evaluations of a diverse group of Class of ’23 cotton variety maturities and pest trait platforms.
“The 13 cotton variety candidates being evaluated this season for the Class of ’23 showcase the diversity of elite germplasm and strength of the Deltapine cotton breeding and development program, which allows us to test this many products across a wide range of germplasm backgrounds, biotech trait platforms, maturity, and native trait combinations,” says Eric Best, Deltapine Cotton Product Manager. “Each of these variety candidates has the potential to be in a Deltapine bag for planting in 2023.”
Deltapine NPE growers across the Cotton Belt will have the opportunity to evaluate four Bollgard 3 ThryvOn Cotton with XtendFlex Technology (B3TXF) cotton variety candidates in stewarded field trials. These four candidates range from early maturity to mid-full maturity and have the potential to increase Deltapine’s B3TXF product offering. Pending final regulatory approvals in certain export markets, ThryvOn Technology will be the industry’s first biotech trait to provide protection against tarnished plant bugs and thrips species.
In the West Texas region, southwestern NPE growers will evaluate two Bollgard 3 XtendFlex (B3XF) and two XtendFlex (XF) cotton variety candidates showing outstanding performance potential in this region.
For the Mid-South and Southeast, five B3XF variety candidates will be evaluated this season, including two lines with root knot nematode resistance. The five candidates range from early maturity to mid-full maturity and will have high yield potential similar to the past two classes of Deltapine cotton varieties.
“Nothing advances in this program unless it offers an improvement or something extra over current Deltapine products in the market, and each new cotton variety is evaluated and approved for performance by the NPE growers,” adds Best. “It’s a true test of performance that has helped raise yield and performance standards in the cotton industry.”
Since its inception in 2008, the Deltapine NPE program has become an industry standard for involving cotton growers in pre-commercial cotton variety evaluation and commercialization. More than 200 NPE growers across all regions of the Cotton Belt will plant and evaluate large scale plots of Deltapine Class of ’23 variety candidates this season, growing and managing them through harvest. Their feedback will help determine the Class of ’23 cotton varieties which will be announced in December.
Over the past 14 years, cotton growers involved in the program have built trust and confidence in the evaluation program:
Nick McMichen, Alabama: “There is no doubt that our farm’s yield potential has increased significantly since 2008. From DP 0912 B2RF to DP 1646 B2XF to DP 2012 B3XF and now DP 2127 B3XF – the varieties released through the NPE program just keep getting better.”
Coley Bailey, Mississippi: “The NPE program has allowed me to adopt new varieties quicker and plant more acres to them because I have the confidence that they can perform. The variety performance is getting better when you look at where we were in yield potential in 2008 compared to today.”
Jason Rackler, West Texas: “The NPE program has allowed growers to work with the Deltapine team to identify the various challenges we face on our West Texas dryland and irrigated acres. As a result of this partnership, Deltapine continues to focus on delivering variety candidates that fit our diverse region. We look forward to continuing this partnership for the next 15 years.”
Johnny Griffin, North Carolina: “With the NPE program, we have managed to switch to better biotech traits in cotton without suffering a yield drag, and when we switch to a new trait, the yield potential is stable and even improves on our farm.”
Neil Lee, Georgia: “The Deltapine NPE program has become something the industry tunes in to for information on new cotton varieties to plant. Local growers stop by NPE plots and the gin to ask about the varieties because they are confident in the real-farm information being collected on these new cotton varieties.”
Ralph Kellermeier, Texas Southern Rolling Plains: “The NPE program has put growers at the table, allowing us to evaluate and identify cotton varieties that fit our tough, dryland acre, as well as the highly productive irrigated acre. We’re looking for consistent performance in tough conditions on many of our fields, and this program has helped us find the right varieties for those acres.”
Based on information provided by Bayer and Deltapine
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