February 22, 2017
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Regardless of the field of play, the old adage regarding a good defense is a rule to live by. That’s as true in a cotton field as anywhere else – especially if the play call is for bacterial blight.
Researchers agree that the primary management tool for bacterial blight is a resistant variety. A few steps also can be taken to mitigate pressure in fields with a history of the disease and a few in-season tactics may help reduce the opportunity for bacterial blight, but the only consistently impactful decision is to plant a resistant variety.
"A good resistant variety is the foundation to any disease management plan – as long as it will yield and has the quality,” says Jason Woodward, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension plant pathologist.
“Growers looking for the right resistant variety for the right field have a deep bench with the FiberMax lineup,” says Bayer Western Region Agronomic Manager Kenny Melton. Melton also notes that the “bacterial blight resistant” rating is a third-party designation by Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension System.
“Planting a resistant variety is the most effective way of avoiding this disease,” Melton says. “Once bacterial blight has been observed in a field during the growing season, there are no effective chemical control measures. Fungicides are ineffective as the disease pathogen is a bacterium.”
Long recognized as the industry leader for bacterial blight resistant varieties, FiberMax offers these on-farm tested varieties:
FM 1830GLT: An early/medium maturing variety, FM 1830GLT offers excellent yield potential and fiber quality, high gin turnout and very good Verticillium wilt tolerance. These characteristics are complemented by the GlyTol®, LibertyLink® and TwinLink® (GLT) trait package for proven, in-season weed management with Liberty® and glyphosate herbicides and TwinLink®, a two-gene worm protection trait.
FM 1900GLT: Well-adapted to the High Plains and Rolling Plains of Texas, FM 1900GLT provides excellent storm tolerance while delivering high gin turnout, excellent yield potential and fiber quality. This GLT variety is known for good early-season vigor and is widely adapted to full and limited irrigation production.
FM 1911GLT: The industry-leading disease package on this early/medium maturing variety includes not only resistance to bacterial blight, but also very good Verticillium wilt tolerance and very good root-knot nematode tolerance. Excellent early-season vigor and storm tolerance, very strong yield potential, high gin turnout and very strong yield potential round out this package.
FM 2007GLT: An early/medium maturity GlyTol LibertyLink TwinLink variety, FM 2007GLT was bred specifically for the harsh South Texas growing environment, but has shown wide adaptation for the Rolling Plains of both Texas and Oklahoma. In addition to bacterial blight resistance, this variety is a good choice in dryland production to pull good yield and good, stable fiber quality in dry conditions and good storm tolerance.
FM 2011GT: Widely recognized as a workhorse variety, FM 2011GT features GlyTol for in-season glyphosate herbicide tolerance, provides good root-knot nematode tolerance and excellent storm tolerance and delivers very good fiber quality and high gin turnout.
FM 2334GLT: The combination of very good Verticillium wilt tolerance and bacterial blight resistance quickly gets a field started down the road to the excellent yield potential, excellent fiber quality and high gin turnout growers have learned to expect from FM 2334GLT.
FM 2484B2F: A medium maturity Genuity® Roundup Ready® Flex Bollgard II® variety, FM 2484B2F is a medium maturity with a moderate growth habit that can mature later in high-moisture and late-planted situations.
Additionally, it offers outstanding yield potential and excellent fiber quality.FM 9250GL: Large, storm-tolerant bolls are the calling card for FM 9250GL, which has GlyTol and LibertyLink traits for in-season weed control. This early variety offers excellent yield potential and delivers an excellent fiber package.
Learn more about fighting bacterial blight.
Genuity, Roundup Ready and Bollgard II are registered trademarks of Monsanto.
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