Monsanto’s new cotton varieties to be evaluated this season

Seven new Bollgard II XtendFlex cotton variety candidates for the 2017 season will be tested in Monsanto’s Deltapine New Product Evaluator (NPE) Program this year. Nearly 200 growers will be testing the varieties, which offer resistance to root-knot nematodes (RKN).

 

All seven lines being evaluated by NPE growers this season are Bollgard II XtendFlex varieties. Bollgard II XtendFlex cotton, part of the Roundup Ready Xtend Crop System, is tolerant to three different modes of action—dicamba, glyphosate and glufosinate.

 

In 2016, growers are able to use Roundup brand agricultural herbicides containing glyphosate only and Liberty herbicide (glufosinate), while over-the-top use of dicamba is still pending regulatory approval from the Environmental Protection Agency.

 

Although no pre-plant or in-crop use of dicamba is currently approved, some dicamba products may be labeled for weed control prior to planting a crop and subject to minimum plant back restrictions specified on product labels. It is a violation of federal and state law to use any herbicide inconsistent with its labeling, and specifically to make a postemerge in-crop application of any dicamba herbicide product on Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans or Bollgard II XtendFlex cotton.

 

Included in the cotton seed lineup of variety candidates are initial crosses of new, elite germplasm getting their first-ever test on commercial farms. The variety candidates range from early-season to full-season in maturity and target multiple growing regions from the Southwest to the Carolinas.

 

The Deltapine brand is evaluating three Bollgard II XtendFlex NR (nematode resistance) lines—lines that are resistant to RKN. The three new lines being evaluated offer protection against RKN as do some current Deltapine varieties, but with higher yield potential and the new weed control technology, according to Monsanto.

 

Only the variety candidates proven to perform by the NPE growers in 2016 will be named for the Deltapine Class of 17.