PhytoGen Finding a Broad Fit Across the Cotton Belt
November 25, 2024 From Cotton Grower’s Cottonseed Roundup (November 2024)
PhytoGen cottonseed established a firm footing in some key Cotton Belt geographies during 2024, thanks in large part to the performance of its line of widely adapted, mid-maturity varieties, according to Joel Faircloth, Portfolio Leader for Cotton.
“Preliminary data from south and central Texas shows that PHY 400 W3FE and PHY 415 W3FE continue to perform well in what is a key area for us,” he says. “Over in the Mid-South, both of these varieties also show strong performance in field trials, but PHY 411 W3FE is quickly establishing a dominant position in that geography with its broad adaptation and extremely high yield potential – some of which went over four bales in 2023.”
In addition to their fit in South Central Texas and the Mid-South, Faircloth points out that growers in the Southeast and Mid-South are also showing interest in PHY 415 W3FE and PHY 411 W3FE.
Also in the Southeast, PhytoGen introduced PHY 475 W3FE in limited quantities in 2024, and it has shown strong performance in OVT trials at Georgia and Auburn. That variety – along with PHY 411 W3FE – offers the complete host of native traits and PhytoGen Breeding Traits for bacterial blight, root knot nematode, and reniform nematode resistance.
In the Mid-Atlantic states and parts of the northern Delta, PHY 360 W3FE is an early maturing option that allows growers to get in and out quickly.
Impactful Technologies
“Our Enlist weed control system continues to be an extremely effective herbicide option,” notes Faircloth. “And with the potential changes with dicamba, we have a lot of growers who are looking at that technology, and demand is moving up quickly. Coupled with Enlist E3 soybeans, growers have the option to also grow Enlist cotton varieties to fit their overall production system.”
PhytoGen Breeding Trait also continue to perform well, points out Faircloth. “These native traits give growers options where they have nematode issues, as well as where they don’t, allowing the varieties to adapt to any situation.”
Coming Soon
Faircloth says PhytoGen has seven experimental varieties under evaluation with market potential for 2025. “We won’t bring all seven, but we’re going to have some really tough decisions to make because they’re not only beating our competitive portfolio but our own portfolio in some cases,” he explains. “All will be W3FE varieties with the full host of native and PhytoGen Breeding Traits.”
New variety decisions will be announced in December or January.
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