The class of 2023 is already in cotton fields. The trial runs preface outstanding genetic promise, according to Deltapine’s New Product Evaluator (NPE).
The NPE program highlights 13 potential cotton varieties for 2023, including four Bollgard 3 ThryvOn with XtendFlex Technology options (early to mid-full maturity). ThryvOn will be the cotton industry’s first biotech trait to provide protection against tarnished plant bugs and thrips species, pending regulatory approval.
“New Deltapine cotton varieties and trait platforms are being adopted by U.S. cotton growers faster than ever because of the trust and confidence they have in the NPE program,” says Eric Best, Deltapine cotton product manager. “Nothing advances in this program unless it offers an improvement or something extra over current Deltapine products in the market…”
In West Texas, NPE growers will evaluate two Bollgard 3 XtendFlex and two XtendFlex cotton varieties. For the Mid-South and Southeast, there are five Bollgard 3 XtendFlex variety candidates to evaluate in 2023, including two lines with root knot nematode resistance.
Since its inception in 2008, the Deltapine NPE program has notched multiple milestones:
Launch of DP 1044 B2RF in 2010, the top-selling cotton variety in Texas for four years
Bollgard II XtendFlex cotton varieties launched in 2015
DP 1646 B2XF launched in 2016, which became the top-planted variety in the U.S.
Bollgard 3 XtendFlex cotton varieties launched in 2018
Deltapine Bollgard 3 ThryvOn with XtendFlex Technology cotton varieties advanced in 2021
Entering year 15, several growers across the Cotton Belt provide perspective on NPE. “Our farm’s yield potential has increased significantly since 2008, there is no doubt,” says Alabama producer Nick McMichen. “From DP 0912 B2RF to DP 1646 B2XF to DP 2012 B3XF and now DP 2127 B3XF — the varieties released through the NPE program just keep getting better.”
“The NPE program has allowed me to adopt new varieties quicker and plant more acres to them because I have the confidence that they can perform, and the variety performance is getting better when you look at where we were in yield potential in 2008 compared to today,” echoes Mississippi grower Coley Bailey.
Jason Rackler of West Texas adds, “The NPE program has allowed growers to work with the Deltapine team to identify the various challenges we face on our West Texas dryland and irrigated acres.”
Over 200 NPE growers across the Cotton Belt will plant and evaluate large-scale plots of Deltapine Class of 2023 variety candidates this season.
