PhytoGen^® cottonseed announces new trait package for southwest U.S. market

PhytoGen^® cottonseed, the U.S. cottonseed brand of Corteva Agriscience, announced a new transgenic trait package, W3E1, for the 2023 season.  

The W3E1 trait package combines the Enlist^® cotton trait and WideStrike^® 3 Insect Protection, giving cotton producers the freedom to choose a customized weed management program without a glyphosate-tolerant trait.

From left, customers Dean Vardeman, Scott Vardeman and Keith Vardeman pose at a trial location planted to PhytoGen experimental varieties with the W3E1 trait package near Lubbock, Texas.

Growers can apply Enlist One^® herbicide and glufosinate herbicides for over-the-top weed control, as well as pre- and postemergence herbicides labeled for cotton that do not contain glyphosate. PhytoGen W3E1 varieties will be available in the southwest Cotton Belt as a way for producers to reduce input costs on acres that can be managed without glyphosate.

Joel Faircloth, U.S. Cotton Portfolio Manager for PhytoGen, said PhytoGen W3E1 varieties will have a great fit on farms in the Southwest due to varying agronomic and economic situations.

″Many Southwest cotton producers are relying less on glyphosate because of glyphosate-resistant weeds or because nearby crops, such as grain sorghum, are sensitive to this active ingredient,″ explained Faircloth. ″PhytoGen W3E1 varieties provide the opportunity for growers to increase profitability by lowering their upfront costs and reinvesting some of those savings in pre- and postemergence herbicides to maintain an effective weed control program.″

The W3E1 trait package also enables growers to use glyphosate in the off-season as a cotton stalk destruct application or to control volunteer cotton.

PhytoGen W3E1 varieties will deliver the same elite germplasm as PhytoGen W3FE varieties, which has catapulted PhytoGen to the No. 2 most planted cottonseed brand in the United States with the most planted variety in Texas.1

″PhytoGen W3E1 varieties will supplement our extensive portfolio of PhytoGen W3FE varieties to provide more choice and value to our customers,″ said Faircloth. ″Whether growers choose the comprehensive W3FE trait package or the W3E1 trait package for customized weed management, PhytoGen varieties will continue to provide industry-leading early season vigor, high yield potential and PhytoGen Breeding Traits™, such as root-knot and reniform nematode resistance.″

Licensing on the Horizon

PhytoGen also will license the W3E1 trait package to other cottonseed brands beginning in 2023. Faircloth said discussions with licensee collaborators are underway to finalize plans for next season. Details about those offerings will be forthcoming.

He emphasized that licensing the W3E1 trait package will provide Southwest producers more freedom to tailor a weed control program to their specific situation. It will also offer new opportunities for growers to leverage the excellent weed control of Enlist One® herbicide to keep fields clean for optimum yield and fiber quality potential.

″We want to help U.S. cotton producers thrive, and we believe that means giving them the flexibility to try new management practices and use innovations to increase profitability,″ Faircloth said. ″The W3E1 trait package gives growers another option in cotton management, so it puts them in the driver’s seat to make the right decision for every acre.″