Cotton Variety Performance in NC: What Is the Cost of Improper Variety Selection?

Cotton variety decisions are one of the most important decisions a producer can make.  Modern varieties enter and leave the market in a rather short time frame, leaving producers with little time to effectively evaluate performance or learn how varieties should be positioned or managed.  On-Farm Variety Testing as well as small-plot Official Variety Trials, collectively provide producers with a means of evaluating variety performance across a broad range of environments in a given season.  Understanding the costs associated with poor variety selection is also important, as variety decisions have proven to have a significant impact on producers' profitability.  Such costs can be economically greater than the cost of any other single agronomic input throughout a given season.