Cotton Variety Selection Criteria – Is Yield the Number One Factor?

Yield has always been assumed to be the number one factor when choosing a cotton variety.  However, the importance of the transgenic traits, particularly the herbicide system, brings in to question whether growers choose a trait package or some other factor before choosing yield.  This paper will examine historic trends in cotton variety selection to determine if there is a relationship between yield performance in variety trials and actual acreage planted in order to ascertain whether yield is the driving factor in cotton variety selection decisions.