An in-Depth Look at New Cotton Cultivars in Georgia

The expiration of the single-gene Bt technology will have a tremendous impact on Georgia cotton production.  The most widely planted cultivar in this state, DeltaPine 555 BR, will be removed from the market in 2011, forcing growers and researchers to identify replacement varieties.  New cultivars are being commercialized quickly and these new cultivars are likely to exhibit quite different growth characteristics in regards to height, fruiting patterns, boll distribution, and maturity compared to DeltaPine 555 BR.  This study examined five recently released commercial varieties along with DeltaPine 555 BR with respect to yield, fiber quality, plant height, total number of main-stem nodes, boll distribution with respect to fruiting position, and percent open boll prior to harvest in multiple irrigated and dryland locations.  Data from this study were used to identify specific growth parameters which will likely affect cultivar selection and management of future varieties as they become commercialized.