PhytoGen most widely planted cottonseed in US

PhytoGen brand PHY 499 WRF was the most widely planted cotton variety in the United States this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Cotton Varieties Planted 2012 Crop report issued in early September.

PhytoGen also offers the third-most widely planted cotton variety in 2012. Well-known to growers across the Cotton Belt, PhytoGen brand PHY 375 WRF was the No. 1 variety in 2011.

In addition, PhytoGen was the only cottonseed company to gain more than 1 percent market share Beltwide in 2012, garnering 18.4 percent of the planted acreage.

"We are very proud and humbled to once again grow in market share from 2011 to 2012," says Duane Canfield, portfolio marketing leader and general manager for PhytoGen at Dow AgroSciences. "Each year, more farmers are making the right choice and becoming big fans of the high and consistent yields, strong vigor, excellent fiber quality and the traits they need from PhytoGen cottonseed. The only thing we can say is 'thank you'."

In some ways, Canfield notes, 2012 is a repeat of last year's report on varieties planted. The numbers changed a bit, but the preface - PHY - is the same.

"As in 2011, PhytoGen brand cottonseed has the No. 1 planted Pima variety in PHY 805 RF, the No. 1 planted Acala variety in PHY 725 RF and the No. 1 planted Upland variety in PHY 499 WRF," Canfield notes.

According to the Cotton Varieties Planted 2012 Crop report, Upland growers planted PHY 499 WRF on 9.65 percent of the acres in the United States and PHY 375 WRF on 5.44 percent of the acres. By region, those numbers are markedly higher in the Southeast and Far West, where growers chose the PhytoGen brand varieties 41.84 percent and 33.67 percent, respectively.