St. Louis, Missouri
March 6, 2006Research
findings from an extensive grower trial with Roundup Ready® Flex
cotton in 2005 show that
Monsanto's newest technology can save cotton growers
considerable time and increase their efficiency, in addition to
providing improved weed control flexibility, compared with
Roundup Ready cotton.
The research involved 160
growers across the Cotton Belt, each of whom planted between 20
and 40 acres of Bollgard II® with Roundup Ready Flex cotton this
past season. Field plots were monitored closely throughout the
season by not only the participating farmers, but also by
leading cotton consultants, university specialists and Monsanto
technical development personnel.
Among the study's findings: The
Roundup Ready Flex System saved growers 1.9 minutes per acre
compared with Roundup Ready cotton (5.4 minutes versus 7.3
minutes). This translates into a 26 percent time saving which,
if extrapolated out for 2,000 acres, would mean a time savings
of 63 hours in a year.
"These numbers only tell part
of the story," says Dr. Shea Murdock, Roundup Ready Flex
Technical Manager for Monsanto. "All the technology benefits
will probably not be realized until it is used across much
larger fields than the 20- to 40-acre trials on which these data
are based."
In addition to the efficiency
and time savings, the grower trial research also showed some
cost savings to the farmer when Roundup Ready Flex cotton is
grown. "There are lower application costs past the fourth-leaf
stage that are realized by being able to spray over the top
versus using a hooded sprayer," Murdock explains. "And, in some
of the locations, there were fewer trips over the field due to
the ability to tank-mix Roundup® agricultural herbicide with
other crop protection chemicals, including insecticides, growth
regulators and fertilizers."
According to Murdock, there
also was no need in many cases for growers to apply insecticides
for worm control due to the in-plant protection offered by the
Bollgard II trait.
Murdock adds that Roundup Ready
Flex cotton is one of the most widely tested cotton technologies
ever to be commercialized, having been tested extensively at all
major land-grant universities in the Cotton Belt since the 2001
growing season.
OVT Results
The new cotton varieties that
will carry the Roundup Ready Flex trait in 2006 also were tested
in the Monsanto field trials and include offerings from most
major cottonseed companies, including Stoneville®, Delta and
Pine Land®, Beltwide Cotton Genetics® and FiberMax®. Roundup
Ready Flex will be available in more than 30 cottonseed
varieties for 2006.
In addition, most of these new
cotton varieties were tested in Official Variety Trials (OVT) in
2005 at major land-grant Cotton Belt universities, including
University of Georgia, Auburn University, Mississippi State
University, University of Arkansas, Louisiana State University,
Texas A&M University, Clemson University, Florida State
University, Virginia Tech, North Carolina State University,
University of Missouri, University of Tennessee and Oklahoma
State University.
"Many of these new Roundup
Ready Flex and Bollgard II with Roundup Ready Flex varieties
performed comparably to current commercial standards," Murdock
says. "These OVT trials involved a wide range of geographies and
soil conditions. Growers are encouraged to examine the OVT data
for their specific geographies and seed brand preference."
Murdock adds that these
state-specific OVT results are available at
www.monsanto.com. (click on U.S. Agriculture).
Roundup Ready® Flex cotton has full regulatory clearance in the
United States, but as of February 2006, does not have full
import approval in all export markets. Processed fractions from
Roundup Ready Flex cotton, including linters, oil, meal,
cottonseed and gin trash, must be used and consumed
domestically, and must not be exported without all necessary
approvals in the importing country. Roundup® brand agricultural
herbicides are available to growers for the expanded
applications tolerated by Roundup Ready Flex cotton for its
impending commercial launch. Growers should be sure that the
glyphosate product used in these applications over Roundup Ready
Flex cotton has been tested for that use so as to reduce the
risk of leaf damage. See the Roundup Ready Flex Technical Use
Guide for details.
Always read and follow pesticide label directions. Growers must
follow insect resistance management (IRM) requirements. Roundup
Ready® crops contain genes that confer tolerance to glyphosate,
the active ingredient in Roundup® agricultural herbicides.
Roundup® agricultural herbicides will kill crops that are not
tolerant to glyphosate. Roundup Ready®, Bollgard II®,
Stoneville®, NexGen™ and Roundup® are trademarks of Monsanto
Technology LLC. All other trademarks are the property of their
respective owners. |