San Antonio, Texas
January 6, 2009
Monsanto Company today announced its D&PL business will
market five new varieties as the Deltapine Class of 09 for the
coming production season. These varieties, which offer the
latest improvements in yield potential and technology, were
introduced during the 2009 Beltwide Cotton Conferences that have
brought the cotton industry together in San Antonio.
The varieties -- DP 0912 B2RF, DP 0920 B2RF, DP 0924 B2RF, DP
0935 B2RF and DP 0949 B2RF -- offered excellent yield potential
across hundreds of test locations during the 2008 season. The
Class of 09 will offer new, higher yield potentials to growers
throughout the Cotton Belt and the well established benefits of
Bollgard II and Roundup Ready Flex.
Dr. Robert T. Fraley, Monsanto chief technology officer, met
with a group of farmers who participated in the company's new
product exposure program Monday evening.
"There is an excitement that comes from introducing improvements
that will help our farmers produce more," Fraley says. "The
excitement with the Class of 09 comes not only from the data
showing a new standard in on-farm yield and value performance.
There is also a real excitement around the Class of 09 because
more than 100 farmers experienced first-hand the increased yield
potential on their farms. We anticipate this excitement
continuing, as the Class of 09 is the latest in a series of
gains we are driving through breeding and technology as we seek
to double yields by 2030."
Dr. Dave Albers, Monsanto cotton germplasm development lead,
said increasing yields is a primary way to increase cotton's
on-farm profitability.
"In our testing of the Class of 09 varieties, we have captured
yield data and followed that through fiber quality testing,"
Albers explains. "Across the Belt, these varieties outyielded
market standards like DP 555 BG/RR and ST 4554 B2RF, which have
been cited as the top planted varieties by the USDA.
Once we got gin receipts and fiber data we saw that crop values
were also higher than the market standards of any of the
commercial varieties tested."
Innovative new product exposure plots enabled more than 100
farmers to try the Class of 09 varieties on their farms. The
farmers had large plots and managed based on their own scouting
programs and results farmers have reported were similarly
impressive.
- Wellington, Texas
farmer Tony Cox was able to look at four Class of 09
varieties. With yields of 3.5 to 4 bales in each of those
varieties, Cox says he looks forward to planting some of
those varieties again in 2009 as they are commercialized.
- In Georgia, Tony Lasseter
who farms near Moultrie had three Class of 09 varieties --
DP 0924 B2RF, DP 0920 B2RF, and DP 0935 B2RF -- beat DP 555
BG/RR, which had commanded the biggest share of Lasseter's
farm for the past 5 years. DP 0920 B2RF and DP 0935 B2RF
outperformed "triple nickel" by approximately 200 pounds.
- Mount and Mount Farms in
Friendship, Tenn., had four Class of 09 varieties that
outperformed ST 4554 B2RF. Mount saw advantages from
approximately 100 pounds per acre to more than 350 pounds
per acre over the local standard.
Monsanto Company is a leading
global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural
products that improve farm productivity and food quality.
Monsanto remains focused on enabling both small-holder and
large-scale farmers to produce more from their land while
conserving more of our world's natural resources such as water
and energy. |
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