AgroPages-Bayer CropScience announced new FiberMax and Stoneville cotton varieties for 2016 in USA-Agricultural news

Growers will have three new cotton varieties from Bayer for the 2016 growing season including one FiberMax® and two Stoneville® offerings. All three new varieties are stacked with proprietary Bayer traits including GlyTol®, LibertyLink®and TwinLink® technologies.

GlyTol and LibertyLink technology traits enable safe, over-the-top applications of glyphosate and Liberty® herbicide to manage tough-to-control weeds. The added TwinLink technology provides two Bt genes for season-long protection against lepidopteran pests such as cotton bollworm, pink bollworm and tobacco budworm.

Regional cotton agronomists test new FiberMax and Stoneville varieties annually through Cotton Agronomic Performance (CAP) trials across the Cotton Belt. CAP trials provide on-farm experience so growers and consultants can evaluate how varieties perform across different soil types, geographical regions, farming practices and water-management techniques.

Bayer begins the process of variety development by surveying stakeholders about the production challenges growers face regarding cottonseed varieties. Researchers, breeders and agronomists then work together to develop varieties for improved fiber quality, higher yield potential and increased profits.

New FiberMax Variety:

(Southwest High Plains)

FM 1911GLT is very well adapted to the High Plains of the Southwest. This variety offers high yield potential with a robust fiber package. It features full tolerance to both Liberty and glyphosate herbicides, plus broad-spectrum lepidopteran insect protection (cotton bollworm and pink bollworm) utilizing two Bt genes. FM 1911GLT has yield stability across multiple environments with a broad spectrum disease package. Other key benefits include excellent early season vigor, high gin turnout, very good root-knot nematode and Verticillium wilt tolerance as well as resistance to bacterial blight.

New Stoneville varieties available for 2016 include:

(East Texas, Mid-South, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast)

ST 4848GLT is an early/medium maturing GlyTol LibertyLink TwinLink variety with exceptional yield potential, herbicide flexibility and the added benefit of insect protection of TwinLink technology. ST 4848GLT is easy to manage with moderately aggressive growth characteristics.

(Mid-South, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast)

ST 4949GLT is an early/medium maturing GlyTol LibertyLink TwinLink variety with exceptional yield potential. It has good fiber quality with a very high lint percent. ST 4949GLT is easy to manage with moderately aggressive growth characteristics and early data suggests the added benefit of intermediate Verticillium wilt tolerance.