Seven new cotton varieties, including five Bollgard 3 XtendFlex lines, make up the Deltapine Class of 2018.

The new varieties, which will have introductory quantities available for sale to growers across the Cotton Belt this year, were announced at the Deltapine NPE Summit in Savannah, Ga.,  Dec. 9. The new varieties are DP 1820 B3XF, DP 1835 B3XF, DP 1840 B3XF, DP 1845 B3XF, DP 1851 B3XF, DP 1822 XF and DP 1823NR B2XF.

The Class of 2018 is the 10th class of new, commercial varieties to come out of the Deltapine New Product Evaluator Program. The varieties were tested and proven to perform at a high level by select growers participating in the program from across every region of the Cotton Belt.

“This 10th NPE Program class is significant, as it marks the full commercial launch of the first Deltapine Bollgard 3 XtendFlex cotton varieties,” said Keylon Gholston, Deltapine cotton product manager. “These varieties are unique because they combine the highest-performing genetics with the best weed control and next-generation worm control technologies.”

Bollgard 3 contains the protein called Vip3A, which provides a third mode of action in addition to the Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab Bt proteins found in Genuity Bollgard II technology. The introduction provides growers with three unique proteins and modes of action for better insect control while increasing the longevity of the technology.

Cotton with XtendFlex technology is tolerant to glyphosate, glufosinate and dicamba, which provides added choices and flexibility to apply multiple combinations of these three herbicides pre- and/or post-plant for effective weed management system.

New varieties in detail

Dave Albers, Monsanto’s cotton product development manager, said rarely has a class of Deltapine cotton varieties been this large. Six were released in Class of 2010 while seven were released in the Class of 2015, when Bollgard II Xtendflex was launched by the company. “There is really a product here for anybody in any area of the belt,” Albers said.

As the Deltapine NPE program marks its tenth year, Gholston notes one of the biggest changes the program has brought to the marketplace is the faster adoption of new varieties across the Cotton Belt. Farmers began changing the varieties they plant each year more quickly since the NPE program was launched in 2008, he noted.

To illustrate, Gholston pointed to the popularity of Deltapine 1646 B2XF that was part of the Class of 2016 and was the most widely planted variety in 2017, according to the USDA-AMS Cotton Varieties Planted Report.

“A farmer used to plant the same variety for 10 to 15 years. We introduced DP 1646 B2XF in 2016 and in 2017 it was the most widely planted variety in the United States. That tells me growers are looking at this NPE program and they’re saying ‘I feel good about planting a lot of acres to this variety because my neighbor who was part of the NPE program says it works,'” Gholston said.

Gholston said both yields and fiber quality have gone up since the NPE program began in 2008. He said this delivers better value to growers. "Yields have gone up and profitability has gone up because the fiber quality increases. Today, a grower who is buying DP 1646 B2XF, for example, is getting better value than when he was paying less for cotton seed. Not only is the company investing on the front end in research and development, they are also trying to increase the demand for U.S. cotton through improved fiber quality of Deltapine varieties.”

On hand for the Deltapine NPE Summit in Savannah, Ga. Dec. 9 were Keylon Gholston, left, Deltapine cotton product manager, and Hugh Dollar, and NPE grower, with Dollar Family Farms in Bainbridge, Ga.