The Deltapine brand of upland cottonseed was the most popular planted in the United States in 2006, according to the USDA/Agricultural Marketing Service's Cotton Program. The FiberMax brand was the second most popular, followed by Stoneville, Paymaster, AFD Seed, PhytoGen, All-Tex and Americot.

The top seven planted varieties in the United States this season were DP 555 BG/RR, DP 444 BG/RR, FM 960B2R, FM 958, DP 445 BG/RR, FM 960 RR and DP 449 BG/RR.

Deltapine brand varieties accounted for about 47.9 percent of U.S. cotton acreage in 2006. It accounted for 85.8 percent of the acreage planted in the Southeast, 72.3 percent of the acreage planted in the Mid-South, 15.5 percent of the Southwest and 31.7 percent of the acreage planted in the West.

Deltapine's most popular varieties were DP 555 BG/RR, DP 444 BG/RR, DP 445 BG/RR, and DP 449 BG/RR, accounting respectively for 17.3, 13.2, 4.7, and 1.8 percent of the U.S. upland cotton acreage.

Bayer CropScience FiberMax varieties were the second most popular brand planted in 2006, accounting for about 26.7 percent of the U.S. acreage. These varieties accounted for 3.1 percent of the acreage planted in the Southeast, 2.5 percent in the Mid-South, 54.8 percent in the Southwest, and 8.2 percent in the West.

The most popular FiberMax varieties were FM 960 B2R, FM 958, FM 960 RR, FM 832, and FM 960 BR, accounting respectively for about 6, 5.4, 2.2, 1.7, and 1.7 percent of the U.S. acreage planted to upland cotton.

Stoneville brand varieties were the third most popular planted in 2006. These varieties accounted for about 12.2 percent of the acreage planted, including 8.4 percent of the acreage planted in the Southeast, 22.4 percent of the acreage in the Mid-South, 8 percent in the Southwest, and 8.8 percent in the West.

The most popular Stoneville varieties were ST 5599 BR, ST 4554 B2RF, and ST5242 BR, accounting respectively for about 3.7, 1.9, and 1.4 percent of U.S. acreage planted to upland cotton.

Paymaster brand varieties were the fourth most popular planted in 2006, accounting for about 2.7 percent of U.S. acreage. They accounted for 0.3 percent of the acreage planted in the Southeast, 0.3 percent of the acreage in the Mid-South, and 5.7 percent in the Southwest.

The most popular Paymaster brand varieties were PM 2280 BG/RR and PM 2145 RR, accounting respectively for about 0.8 and 0.5 percent of U.S. acreage planted to upland cotton.

AFD Seed brand varieties were the next most popular brand and accounted for about 2.5 percent of the U.S. acreage planted in 2006.

PhytoGen brand varieties were the next most popular and accounted for about 2.2 percent of the U.S. acreage planted in 2006.

All-Tex varieties were the seventh most popular and accounted for about 1.8 percent of the 2006 U.S. cotton acreage.

According to USDA/AMS, the top three in the Mid-South were DP 444 BG/RR, DP 555 BG/RR and DP 445 BG/RR.

The top three planted varieties in the Southeast were DP 555 BG/RR, DP 444 BG/RR and DP 449 BG/RR.

The top three in the Southwest were FM 960B2R, FM 958, and FM 960RR.

The top three in the West were PHY 72 Acala, DP 449 BG/RR and PHY 725 RF.

PhytoGen was the most popular brand of American Pima varieties planted in 2006. PhytoGen variety PHY 800 Pima accounted for 49.8 percent of the United States Pima acreage and was the most popular variety planted in California (56.2 percent of California Pima acreage).

Deltapine's DP 340 Pima was the second most planted American Pima variety and accounted for 32.8 percent of the U.S. crop. Deltapine's DP 744 Pima was the next most popular variety and accounted for 9.5 percent of the U.S. Pima acreage.

The most popular American Pima variety planted in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona was Deltapine DP 340, accounting respectively for 82.1, 51.2, and 51.0 percent Pima acreage.

Transgenic varieties — genetically engineered varieties resistant to worms, herbicides, or both — accounted for about 95.5 percent of the upland cotton planted in the United States in 2006.

Estimates of the percentage of the various varieties of cotton planted in the United States for 2006 were based on informal surveys made by the Cotton Program classing offices. Those surveyed included ginners, seed dealers, Extension agents, and other knowledgeable sources.