PRODUCTION

Arkansas To Release New Variety

A limited quantity of seed of a high yielding, high quality, non-transgenic cotton variety will be sold directly to producers by the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture for planting in 2011, according to Mark Cochran, the Division’s associate vice president for research and director of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station.

The new variety, UA 48, “sets a new standard for fiber quality in upland cotton,” Cochran says. “We are offering UA 48 for licensure by a commercial seed company, but while that process is underway, we believe farmers will benefit from direct marketing.”

To protect the rights of a future licensee, producers will not be allowed to save harvested seed for planting, he adds. Patent and plant variety protection applications are pending.

“In performance tests in Arkansas and four other states, UA 48 has demonstrated a rare combination of early maturity, superior fiber quality and high yield potential,” he says.

A limited quantity of 50-pound bags of UA 48 will be sold at $100 per bag. Orders may be placed by contacting Rheta Pryor at (479) 575-8426 (rpryor@uark.edu), Arkansas Crop Variety Improvement Program, 1091 W. Cassatt Street, Fayetteville, Ark., 72704. Seed will be treated with Maxim/Apron/Systhane40.

Lower Costs Involved

Tom Barber, the Division’s Extension cotton specialist, says UA 48 seed can be planted at a cost of about $20 per acre compared to $100 per acre for transgenic varieties.

UA 48 provides a high yield, lower cost option for producers who have infestations of glyphosate-resistant weeds, Barber says. In those fields, the standard treatment of glyphosate (typically Roundup) with a transgenic variety has to be supplemented with additional herbicides to control resistant weeds. With a non-transgenic variety, no glyphosate would be applied.

UA 48 is a good choice for producers who can manage it for early maturity and implement conventional weed and pest control programs, Barber says. Early maturity makes it best adapted for the shorter growing season from just south of I-40 to the north.

UA 48 performance test results, an order form and other details are online at http://aaes.uark.edu/UA48.html. Seed quality information will be posted when available.

The University of Arkansas contributed information for this article.