Lubbock, Texas
April 17, 2008
U.S. Cotton growers who use
university Official Variety Trials (OVT) to review local
performance data on new varieties have another source of
information. Bayer
CropScience allows growers to tap into additional research
through Cotton Agronomic Performance (CAP) trials across the
Cotton Belt.
“Bayer CropScience has a broad and proven germplasm pool for
advancing varieties,” said Steve Nichols, Bayer CropScience U.S.
agronomic manager. “The challenge is determining which variety
has the best fit on a particular acre. CAP trials provide
on-farm experience so growers and consultants can evaluate how
our varieties perform across different soil types, geographical
regions, farming practices and water-management techniques.”
Bayer CropScience agronomists work with growers and consultants
to oversee the CAP trials, Nichols said. With this combined
effort, everyone works together to determine the best agronomic
practices for each variety.
Mississippi consultant Chris Adams assisted with the Lodi,
Miss., CAP trial in 2007. He said the hands-on experience with
new varieties was extremely helpful.
“As fast as new varieties are coming on the market, there is no
doubt this was a valuable experience,” Adams said. “It’s helpful
to manage varieties in the field before my farmers ask for
recommendations. Now I know which varieties will work best in
our area.”
Adams saw two standouts in his CAP trial: ST 5458B2RF and ST
4498B2RF. Both varieties yielded more than 4 bales per acre —
all the more impressive because his grower managed the trial
exactly like he manages the rest of his cotton acres.
“It was a real world trial that did not require any special
production practices,” Adams said.
Nichols said Bayer CropScience will continue to place a high
priority on research and development efforts such as the CAP
trials.
“As we continue to invest in research, we will continue to set
benchmarks on high-quality, high-yielding varieties,” he said.
“We’re expanding the scope of our research. We’re effectively
doubling the amount of CAP trial data because we now include
both Stoneville and FiberMax cotton seed varieties. This year,
we’ll collect data from more than 100 trial locations.”
For more information on the CAP trials or the full lineup of
2008 Stoneville and FiberMax cotton seed varieties, contact your
local Bayer CropScience representative or visit
www.CottonExperts.com.
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the
fields of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. Bayer
CropScience AG, a subsidiary of Bayer AG with annual sales of
about EUR 5.8 billion (2007), is one of the world’s leading
innovative crop science companies in the areas of crop
protection, non-agricultural pest control, seeds and plant
biotechnology. The company offers an outstanding range of
products and extensive service backup for modern, sustainable
agriculture and for non-agricultural applications. Bayer
CropScience has a global workforce of about 17,800 and is
represented in more than 120 countries.
Always read and follow label instructions. Bayer , the Bayer
Cross, FiberMax and Stoneville are registered trademarks of
Bayer. Bollgard II and Roundup Ready Flex are trademarks of
Monsanto Technology LLC. Certain stewardship guidelines are
provided for Bollgard II cotton at
www.monsanto.com.
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