Acres planted to cotton are expected to increase across the U.S. and in Tennessee. Recent estimates have Tennessee acres projected to be 540,000 or nearly a 40% increase over 2010. Historically high old crop prices, projected record low ending stocks, and attractive new crop contracts have producers moving back to cotton after a three year hiatus. Cotton varieties have changed since the last time we planted this many acres. Gone are the single gene Bt varieties like DP 444 BG/RR, DP 454 BG/RR and ST 5599 BR. Additionally, were have transitioned from first generation Roundup Ready Flex varieties such as ST 4554 B2RF to varieties that have only been planted for one or two growing seasons. Hopefully you were able to catch a variety selection presentation at our winter Extension meetings. Here is a quick review of the best performing varieties from UT AgResearch and UT Extension trials in 2010 presented in alphabetical order.
- AM 1550 B2RF is an early maturing, semi-smooth leaf plant with medium height and bushy appearance. Performs well on both irrigated and dry-land acres across Tennessee. AM 1550 B2RF ranked 4th in on-farm trials and 16th in OVT trials in 2010 with a $0.551 loan value.
- CG 3220 B2RF is an early maturing, semi-smooth leaf plant with medium plant height and bushy appearance. Performs well on both irrigated and dry-land acres across Tennessee. CG 3220 B2RF ranked 8th in on-farm trials in 2010 with a loan value of $0.554 loan value.
- DG 2570 B2RF is an early-mid maturing, smooth leaf plant with medium-tall plant height and bushy appearance. Performs well on both irrigated and dry-land acres across Tennessee. DG 2570 B2RF ranked 9th in on farm and 3rd in OVT trials in 2010 with a $0.555 loan value. Excellent fiber quality and for 3 year trial average has Ranked 3rd in on-farm and 4th in OVT trials.
- DP 0912 B2RF is an early maturing, semi-smooth leaf plant with medium plant height and somewhat columnar growth. Performs best in creek and river bottoms, and productive irrigated or non-irrigated hill ground. DP 0912 B2RF ranked 6th in on-farm and OVT trails in 2010 with a $0.527 loan value. Tends to have higher micronaire when compared to other contemporary varieties. Consider defoliating a little early when 50% of bolls are open to help reduce overall micronaire.
- DP 0920 B2RF is an early-mid maturing, semi-smooth leaf plant with medium height and bushy appearance. Performs well on dry-land acres across Tennessee. DP 0920 B2RF ranked 1st in on-farm and 18th in OVT trials in 2010 with a $0.551 loan value. Best suited to dry-land fields and more droughty ground.
- DP 1028 B2RF is an early-mid maturing, smooth leaf plant with medium-tall height and bushy appearance. Performs well on irrigated and dry-land acres across Tennessee. DP 1028 ranked 10th in on-farm and 4th in OVT trials during 2010 with a $0.553 loan value.
- DP 1133 B2RF and DP 1137 B2RF are new release varieties for 2011. Plants have smooth leaves, are medium-tall in height and have a bushy appearance. These varieties ranked 17th and 12th, respectively in OVT trials. Neither variety was tested in UT on-farm trials during 2010. Only plant on a small percentage of acres due to limited history with these varieties. Plant these varieties first, and finish planting by May 10th.
- FM 1740B2F is an early-mid maturing, smooth leaf plant with short-medium height and bushy appearance. Performs best in creek and river bottoms or on irrigated hill ground. Avoid droughty ground with this variety to prevent early cutout. FM 1740B2F ranked 16th in on-farm and 14th in OVT trials during 2010 with a $0.553 loan value. In 3 year trial average FM 1740B2F has Ranked 2nd in on-farm and OVT trials.
- FM 1773LLB2 is a medium maturing, smooth leaf plant with medium-tall plant height and bushy appearance. Performs best in creek and river bottoms, and productive irrigated or non-irrigated hill ground. Was the best performing commercial Liberty Link variety in 2010 on-farm trials and Ranked 20th in OVT trials (best performing Liberty Link variety in OVT’s) with a $0.538 loan value. FM 1773LLB2 IS NOT tolerant to glyphosate.
- PHY 367 WRF is an early maturing, semi-smooth leaf plant with short-medium height and bushy appearance. Performs best in creek and river bottoms, and productive irrigated or non-irrigated hill ground. PHY 367 WRF ranked 3rd in on-farm and 8th in OVT trials during 2010 with a $0.542 loan value. This variety has excellent tolerance to root-knot nematode.
- PHY 375 WRF is an early maturing, semi-smooth leaf plant with medium height and bushy appearance. Performs best on dry-land acres across Tennessee. If placed on irrigated acres, water requirement is less than many other varieties. PHY 375 WRF ranked 5th in on-farm and 1st in OVT trials during 2010 with a $0.551 loan value. In 3 year trial average PHY 375 WRF has ranked 1st in on-farm and OVT trials. Most widely planted variety in Tennessee during 2010.
- PHY 499 WRF is a mid-maturing, semi-smooth leaf plant with medium-tall height and bushy appearance. Needs to be planted prior to May 10th and performs well on dry-land acres. PHY 499 WRF ranked 2nd in OVT trials in 2010 and was not tested in on-farm trials. Only plant on a small percentage of acres in 2011 due to limited history with this variety. Seed availability is limited for 2011.
- ST 4145LLB2 is an early maturing, semi-smooth leaf plant with medium height and bushy appearance. Ranked 1st in on-farm Liberty Link trials in 2010 and yielded similar to PHY 375 WRF when treated twice with Ignite in planting date trials during 2010. ST 4145LLB2 is the first commercially available Stoneville germplasm to have Liberty Link technology for control of glyphosate-resistant weeds. Only plant on a small percentage of acres in 2011 due to limited history with this variety. Seed availability is limited for 2011. ST 4145LLB2 IS NOT tolerant to glyphosate.
- ST 4288B2F is early-mid maturing, semi-smooth leaf plant with short-medium height and bushy appearance. Performs best in creek and river bottoms or on irrigated hill ground. Avoid droughty ground with this variety to prevent early cutout. ST 4288B2F ranked 11th in on-farm and 29th in OVT trials during 2010 with a $0.542 loan value. In 2 year trial average ST 4288B2F has Ranked 4th in on-farm and 5th in OVT trials. Variety is very responsive to early plant growth regulator applications.
- ST 5458B2RF is a mid-maturing, semi-smooth leaf plant with medium height and bushy appearance. Needs to be planted prior to May 10th and performs well on irrigated and dry-land acres. Performs especially well on Delta soils. ST 5458B2RF ranked 2nd in on-farm and 9th in OVT trials during 2010 with a $0.542 loan value.
