GlyTol Growers Share Their Experiences
April 25, 2011 Grower Tom Gregory, of Petersburg, Texas, planted FM 9250GL in a production plot for Bayer CropScience in 2010. FM 9250GL is the first cotton variety with dual herbicide traits for complete plant tolerance to Ignite and glyphosate herbicides. Like many cotton farmers on the High Plains, Gregory discovered in recent years that glyphosate often offers greater control on some weeds over others. One weed pest that has proven to be especially difficult to control has been morningglories.
“I had 60 acres of the FM 9250GL, and it performed well. I have a farm that’s got morningglory problems with it, and it helped me through the season and did very well,” says Gregory. “I’m planning on planting it again this year.”
Gregory was one of nearly 150 growers and consultants who gathered for the TechTour event in Lubbock. While he said he enjoys the flexibility the GlyTol trait offers in terms of glyphosate selection, he still had several questions surrounding the best management practices when planting the new Bayer CropScience varieties. As is the case when any new technology is introduced commercially, growers were eager to find out more about GlyTol.
As Bayer CropScience’s regional cotton agronomist for the Lubbock area, Kenny Melton says many growers had heard of GlyTol technology, but they were looking for additional information.
“It’s new technology. Growers know that it’s glyphosate technology, and they’re familiar with that, but it’s a new purveyor of that technology. So they have questions and we’re glad to be able to help them with those,” Melton says.
The interest in GlyTol technology has grown over the course of the past few years.
“We’ve been talking about GlyTol for some time, so they have an idea about it. But now it’s here and we’re launching it commercially this season. A lot of growers have booked some of this seed, and now they want to know the nuts and bolts. They want to know about the technology and varieties so they’re able to manage these correctly as they go into the season,” Melton says.
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