PhytoGen Focused on Breeding Traits
December 6, 2021 PhytoGen cottonseed has focused its breeding efforts on increasing yield and quality, and bringing yield protection traits to market. Those native traits, what the company calls PhytoGen Breeding Traits, include resistance to bacterial blight, root–knot nematode (RKN), and reniform nematode. And some varieties have the added benefit of Verticillium wilt tolerance.
Dr. Joel Faircloth, U.S. Cotton Portfolio Manager, PhytoGen cottonseed, says the company’s primary goal is high yields, and helping growers preserve those yields drives the breeding efforts.
“We have taken a stance on our native breeding traits because we know they can help stabilize yields,” he says. “Anything we can do to help the grower manage a volatile commodity like cotton is a primary focus of our breeding program. Number one, we are breeding for high yields, but these breeding traits help give the grower some assurance they will have stability in yields when they lock in cotton on the market. PhytoGen W3FE varieties also provide growers with worm protection and flexible and effective weed control options with tolerances to Enlist herbicides, Liberty herbicide (glufosinate) and glyphosate.”
Geographic Fits
Faircloth notes the company had four new varieties that were in limited supply this season but will be more widely available in 2022. Here’s a look at their characteristics and where they will fit:
PHY 205 W3FE is an early maturity variety that carries the full host of native breeding traits with resistance to bacterial blight, RKN, and reniform nematode. It also has excellent tolerance to Verticillium wilt. It will be a fit in the panhandle of Texas, Oklahoma and parts of Kansas. “This will be a true High Plains-type variety and is among the earliest cotton varieties on the market,” Faircloth says. “It is a very stable product agronomically and is pretty easy to manage. It will primarily be focused on irrigated acreage. Growers in that region also like its higher, stable micronaire.”
PHY 332 W3FE is an early mid-maturing variety that has exceptional yield potential with excellent fiber quality. It has a very broad area of adaptation and is a medium- to-tall plant. This variety is resistant to bacterial blight, RKN and reniform nematodes. “One area this variety fits well is on the Southwest Plains fields with light water,” Faircloth says. “Another area of adaptation is in South Texas and the south Delta with regional adaptability in the north Delta, Southeast, and Mid-Atlantic. In the latter geographies, it really stands out on irrigated, higher-input scenarios.”
PHY 443 W3FE is another variety advanced based on performance across third-party trials in 2020. It is a mid-maturing, very broadly adapted taller plant with great fiber quality. This variety is resistant to bacterial blight, RKN and reniform nematodes. “This variety is robust and can handle stress very well,” Faircloth says. “You can put it on dryland fields with coarser texture soils and it closes row middles nicely. Its primary area of adaptation spans from the north Delta to the Mid-Atlantic and lower Southeast.”
PHY 545 W3FE is a mid- to full-maturing variety tested on farms since 2019. It was advanced based on its exceptional performance in lower Southeast trials. The maturity falls between PHY 500 W3FE and PHY 580 W3FE varieties and is resistant to bacterial blight and RKN. “We will be targeting this variety to Georgia, Alabama, and lower South Carolina,” Faircloth says. “We have initially focused this variety on irrigated scenarios, but it’s looked fantastic on dryland this season. It is widely adapted anywhere full-season varieties are desired.”
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