Leland, Mississippi, USA
July 31, 2015
Growers looking for a complete portfolio of high-yielding, quality cottonseed varieties with proven performance and profit potential are looking to PhytoGen® cottonseed for whole-farm solutions. The PhytoGen portfolio includes several new varieties. With the expanded product line, cotton growers have more options to choose from varieties that perform well under different growing conditions and situations.
“We’ve been fine-tuning our cottonseed product offerings to meet the varying needs of cotton growers throughout the Cotton Belt,” says Brooks Blanche, Ph.D., a cotton development specialist with PhytoGen. “Yield and profit potential are the two biggest factors that drive growers’ decisions about which varieties to plant. PhytoGen offers a solid portfolio of varieties bred to deliver potential profit.”
Trials Prove Profit Advantage of PhytoGen
PhytoGen cottonseed is living up to growers’ profit expectations, according to data from various 2014 public variety field trials. In 45 head-to-head trials on farms across the Cotton Belt comparing three PhytoGen brand varieties — PHY 312 WRF, PHY 333 WRFand PHY 444 WRF — with three of the top competitors, PhytoGen cottonseed emerged as the clear leader across the board in yield, lint quality and profit.
“Using SeedMatrix.com to project profits, PHY 312 WRF and PHY 333 WRF garnered crop values of $817 and $827 per acre, respectively,” Blanche says. “It is a significant advantage, especially for growers now struggling to realize even a modest profit.”
More Choices for Growers
In addition to PhytoGen® brand PHY 499 WRF, the No. 1-planted Upland variety for four consecutive years, one of the most anticipated new varieties introduced last year, PHY 333 WRF, is demonstrating broad adaptability with outstanding yield potential.
“PHY 333 WRF is an early to midmaturing option with excellent fiber quality and high yield potential, particularly on irrigated, fertile soil,” says Christopher Main, Ph.D., PhytoGen cotton development specialist. “Because PHY 333 WRF matures a little earlier, it’s an excellent complement to PHY 499 WRF.”
In 2014 Tennessee Official Variety Trials (OVTs), PHY 333 WRF delivered the highest yield and ranked first among competitive offerings across the northern Delta’s head-to-head OVT averages, showing a $44-per-acre crop value advantage over the next competitive offering.
Further south, Blanche says, PHY 333 WRF was the overall top performer in lint yield among 10 competitors in 2014 Mississippi State University On-farm Variety Trials and ranked second for two-year yield averages (2013 and 2014) in Mississippi State and Louisiana State universities’ OVTs, behind PHY 312 WRF.
“PHY 333 WRF is demonstrating that it’s an excellent fit on highly productive Delta soils and responds well to inputs and irrigation,” Blanche says. “It is proving to be the variety for high-performing soils.”
PhytoGen brand PHY 495 W3RF is the first three-gene Bt product on the market. This variety features WideStrike® 3 Insect Protection, an excellent option for growers concerned with yield losses due to cotton bollworm. Growers also have seen high yield and great quality with this variety. As a result of breeding specifically for West Texas and the Texas northern Plains region, PhytoGen also introduced a new early season variety for 2015, PhytoGen brand PHY 222 WRF. PHY 222 WRF is the earliest-maturing variety in the lineup, specifically bred for storm tolerance along with consistency and yield potential.
PhytoGen brand varieties bred to provide high-level root-knot-nematode resistance, PhytoGen brand PHY 417 WRF and PhytoGen® brand PHY 427 WRF, are suited for specific geographies. PHY 417 WRF is a great fit in Texas and Oklahoma, while PHY 427 WRF provides optimum performance in the Midsouth, Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. Both are early maturing varieties with high quality and excellent yield potential in fields with root-knot-nematode pressure.
Many favorite PhytoGen brand varieties again are showing great performance, yield and profit potential in 2015, including:
- PhytoGen brand PHY 339 WRF
- PhytoGen brand PHY 499 WRF
- PhytoGen brand PHY 575 WRF
Excitement in the PhytoGen Pipeline
Main reminds producers that PhytoGen has an impressive pipeline of germplasm and traits in development for introduction in 2016 and beyond.
“PhytoGen brand varieties are bred to yield and yield quality cotton,” he says. “PhytoGen brand PHY 444 WRF will be available in 2016, and field trials in the South and Southeast are showing tremendous yield potential. Even with the wet planting season, profitability expectations are high for this superior fiber quality variety with lower micronaire and exceptionally long staple.”
PhytoGen sales representatives and cotton development specialists are available to help growers choose a variety that’s right for their farms. For more information, call
800-258-3033 or visit PhytoGenYields.com.
PhytoGen, an affiliate of Dow AgroSciences, offers cottonseed varieties with the most advanced in-plant protection options, such as WideStrike Insect Protection and Genuity® Roundup Ready® Flex. For more information on PhytoGen or 2015 varieties, call 800-258-3033 or go to PhytoGen.com. Join the discussion with PhytoGen on Facebook and YouTube.
About Dow AgroSciences
Dow AgroSciences, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, is committed to discovering, developing, and bringing to market crop protection and plant biotechnology solutions for the growing world. Dow AgroSciences is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company and had annual global sales of $7.3 billion in 2014.
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