Each year, commercial cotton seed companies bring to U.S. growers new farm-proven varieties, pushing yield potential and quality higher, and, for 2021, new resistance and tolerance technologies. 

Americot 

Americot continues to expand the NexGen line of Bollgard 3 XtendFlex varieties for 2021 with three new additions. These three varieties provide growers additional high quality, high-yielding options with excellent fiber packages. 

NG 3195 B3XF is an early-medium maturing Bollgard 3 XtendFlex Technology variety offering good heat tolerance and consistent performance. This variety offers high yield potential and high turnout. Tested in 2020 as AMX 19B001 B3XF. 

NG 4190 B3XF offers excellent yield potential and fiber quality on both dryland and irrigated acres. This medium maturing Bollgard 3 XtendFlex variety is sure to have a fit in multiple regions across the Belt! Tested in 2020 as AMX 19B002 B3XF. 

NG 5150 B3XF comes packed with the latest Bollgard 3 XtendFlex Technology. With excellent heat tolerance, NG 5150 B3XF is broadly adapted and will perform well where medium to full maturing varieties are preferred. Tested in 2020 as AMX 19B003 B3XF. 

BASF 

BASF is introducing three new cotton varieties into the market in 2021. Placement for these varieties spans the Cotton Belt. 

FiberMax 1730 GLTP brings very good root-knot nematode tolerance, good disease resistance and an excellent fiber package. It’s out of the same background as FiberMax 1830 GLT and FiberMax 2334 GLT — two varieties that have done extremely well across cotton farms from the Rio Grande Valley to California. 1730 exhibits good Verticillium wilt tolerance and is resistant to bacterial blight. The TwinLink Plus technology provides 3-gene protection, particularly for farms on the rolling plains of Texas. The variety as fairly short and compact, so it doesn’t have extensive plant growth regulator requirements.  

Stoneville 4993 B3XF looks to be a strong fit across the belt, but especially in the West where it’s produced good yields. It’s resistant to bacterial blight, said Kenny Melton, BASF western region agronomic manger. It has a moderate growth habit that will require some PGRs when paired with an aggressive fertility program or full irrigation. It does fall into early – mid- category. It’s not resistant to root knot nematode and verticillium wilt tolerance is fairly high. 

Stoneville 5091 B3XF looks to be a good fit for the Eastern Cotton Belt as well as South and East Texas. It brings a strong fiber package and has been a consistent high yielder in trials, said Steve Nichols, with BASF Agronomic Services. One of the company's highest yielders in the Eastern region and places in the West, 5091 is an early-mid maturity that does well on all soil types. It can get tall. On good soils or under irrigation, it would require more extensive PGR management. 

Deltapine 

Two new Bollgard3 XtendFlex cotton varieties with resistance to both reniform and root-knot nematodes are among the five new varieties Deltapine will release in 2021. 

DP 2141NR B3XF and DP 2143NR B3XF give Beltwide coverage for growers who have fields with reniform or root-knot nematode pressure, said Keylon Gholston, Deltapine cotton products manager, adding both varieties demonstrated competitive yield potential on non-nematode fields, but especially shined under nematode pressure. 

The Deltapine Class of ’21 cotton varieties are: 

DP 2115 B3XF is an early-maturity Bollgard 3 XtendFlex variety that showed outstanding yield potential in the New Product Evaluator Program plots and demonstrated good storm tolerance. 

DP 2123 B3XF is an early- to mid-maturity Bollgard 3 XtendFlex variety that demonstrated the ability to perform under heat and drought stress and strong seedling vigor. 

DP 2127 B3XF is an early- to mid-maturity Bollgard 3 XtendFlex variety that showed solid performance in NPE plots across the Cotton Belt with high yield potential. 

DP 2141NR B3XF is a mid- to full-maturity Bollgard 3 XtendFlex variety showing resistance to both reniform and root-knot nematodes with outstanding yield potential. 

DP 2143NR B3XF is a mid- to full-maturity Bollgard 3 XtendFlex variety showing resistance to reniform and root-knot nematodes and moderate tolerance to Verticillium wilt. 

Phytogen 

For 2021 season, PhytoGen brings two new cotton varieties with resistance to both reniform and root knot nematodes, plus a new variety specific for the lower Southeast. 

PHY 332 W3FE is an early mid-maturing variety producing a medium-to-tall plant with a semi-smooth leaf with a broad area of adaption. This variety is resistant to bacterial blight, root knot and reniform nematodes. 

PHY 443 W3FE is a mid-maturing variety producing a tall plant with semi-smooth leaf with a broad area of adaption. This variety is resistant to bacterial blight, root knot and reniform nematodes. 

In trials in fields without nematode pressure in the MidSouth and across the different growing regions of Texas, 332 and 443 yielded as well as non-nematode resistant Phytogen varieties and a leading competitor, said Chris Main, Phytogen cotton development specialist. 

In field trials with high nematode pressure, Main said, the two varieties out yielded non-resistant varieties by more than 30%, some as high as 80%. Both varieties have high fiber quality and loan values. 

PHY 545 W3FE has been tested on farms since 2019 and is specifically adapted for the lower Southeast and will be available for the 2021 growing season, said Russell Nuti, Phytogen cotton development specialist in the Southeast. It is a mid- to full-maturing variety that falls between PHY 500 W3FE and PHY 580 W3FE varieties. It is resistant to bacterial blight and root knot nematodes. 

In lower Southeast trials, 545 averaged 1,439 pounds per acre with exceptional fiber quality and loan value, Nuti said.