After being on Cotton Incorporated’s Board of Directors for many years, I am approaching the end of my service. I spent many of my years at CI as a member of the Agricultural and Environmental Research committee, and it has been a pleasure interacting with our outstanding ag research personnel and seeing firsthand the vital work they do every day on behalf of U.S. cotton growers.
The goal of their many research projects has been and continues to be a simple but not easy task. They must understand and then help solve the many problems cotton growers face in their farming operations.
By coordinating with research and Extension scientists across the Cotton Belt to solve these problems, there is a greater opportunity to maximize quality cotton production in an economically sustainable manner. I want to highlight a few of the deliverables CI funding has driven during my tenure on the Board.
We all know cotton produces both seed and lint, so there are opportunities to increase the value of both. CI research conducted years ago led to new uses for cottonseed in animal rations and thus increased the value of cottonseed. Another success for cottonseed research was the development of Ultra Low Gossypol cotton, which enabled substantial economic benefits for higher-value feed use and human consumption.
This successful research breakthrough created a tremendous humanitarian opportunity. Still, sadly, no major seed company picked this trait up due to the inability to realize an increase in profits in addition to their technology platform. More recent projects are exploring the potential human health benefits of cottonseed oil consumption, another result that could dramatically move the needle for cottonseed prices.
Now, let’s move on to lint. For many years, CI’s ag research team has led the effort to evaluate commercial varieties objectively in official variety trials across the Cotton Belt. These variety trials take place in a wide range of environments so that performance stability is thoroughly evaluated under numerous weather, disease and insect pressures – giving cotton producers unbiased information.
CI research on emerging pests is never-ending and allows the most significant threat issues to be effectively addressed in a timely manner. For example, in the past decade, cotton growers have reaped the benefits of CI-sponsored research that identified resistance to both root-knot and reniform nematodes. This forward-thinking research was implemented more than 20 years ago, a deliverable that saves producers in my area up to $100 per acre in nematicide expenses while maintaining yields.
Similarly to the nematode threat, new and ongoing CI-funded research will explore FOV-4 pathogen-resistant Upland cotton varieties. This development could allow regions where this pathogen is present to produce Upland varieties again and protect against the spread of this devasting disease.
Another effort that I was able to see firsthand during my time serving on CI was at the HudsonAlpha Institute in Huntsville, Alabama, where, through CI funding, researchers have mapped the Cotton Genome and are finishing the PanGenome map of several elite varieties to greatly assist cotton geneticists development of varieties to increase profitability and deliver improved milling qualities for cotton’s end-users.
I look forward to a visit to the Cotton Winter Nursery in Costa Rica next year, which allows breeders to quicken the delivery of varieties to producers through a counter-cyclical increase and evaluation. CI’s expertise and funding are essential to continuing the work of this vital facility.
On another front, CI research projects covering improved ginning, data usage, robotics and drones will enhance producers’ knowledge for better decision-making and productivity at the gin level and aim to improve gin turnout and reduce plastic contamination.
CI continues to invest in novel and innovative research, exploring insecticide and herbicide resistance, deer damage to cotton, drought tolerance, nitrogen efficiency, seed quality, alternative harvest methods, improved software, herbicide safeners and countless other projects to address problems faced by cotton producers today.
These examples illustrate how your Cotton Board investment — stewarded by Cotton Incorporated — enables impactful research by our dedicated scientists across the Cotton Belt. Their efforts bring a meaningful benefit back to the producer above the small investment per bale.
I am very thankful for my time serving on CI’s Board and have been so proud to work with CI’s ag research team, including Ryan Kurtz, Don Jones, Evy Jaconis, Ed Barnes, Kaitlyn Bissonette, Gaylon Morgan and Sally Taylor as well as former researchers Kater Hake, Tom Wedegartner and the late Bob Nichols.
— Jerry Davis
Northwest Florida cotton producer