In recent years, the presence of glyphosate-resistant pigweed in Mid-South cotton has compelled producers to grow glufosinate (Liberty)-tolerant varieties. In 2015, more than 85 percent of cotton acreage in Arkansas was planted to varieties that are tolerant to glufosinate. This acreage included 11 percent planted to XtendFlex (resistant to dicamba) varieties.
However, dicamba applications beyond the current burndown label were not allowed. Almost half of the transgenic entries in the 2015 Arkansas Cotton Variety Test were resistant to dicamba or 2,4-D (Enlist) – a clear indication of the direction of variety development.
The Enlist trait is fully registered in the United States, and the herbicide is labeled in all Mid-South states except Tennessee. Import approvals for some Far East countries are still being pursued. We expect a limited release of Enlist cotton in 2016. It is expected, but at this point still uncertain whether labels will allow spraying of dicamba beyond burndown on XtendFlex cotton in 2016. Thus, producers should make their variety choices accordingly and follow all label requirements.
Selection of varieties then returns to long-established principles of choosing varieties that are likely to produce stable, high yields of premium quality cotton – regardless of their transgene conf iguration.
The ABCs of variety selection may start with letters behind a variety name denoting insect resistance or herbicide tolerance technology, but they certainly do not end there.
Beyond the letters are complex characteristics controlled by multiple genes – yield, fiber quality, stress response, disease resistance, plant type and relative maturity.
“A” stands for area-appropriate. Consider performance data generated from the same area as your farm. Know specific field production constraints and choose varieties with appropriate disease resistance, nematode tolerance and moisture stress response.
“B” is for broadening risk with more than one variety in more than one maturity class so harvest on large farms can be staggered. Broadened risk improves the odds of catching beneficial rains and avoiding widespread hail damage.
“C” is for control. Stay grounded with input capabilities. Highhorsepower varieties in low-input situations can lead to quality problems. “Control” reminds me of the first cotton farmer to ask my advice on variety selection – my father, who passed away in May. Professional presentation of yield data did not impress him. He told me, “I can make these varieties yield. Show me something with the potential for good fiber quality. I have less control over that.”
Ken Legé
PhytoGen Cotton Development Specialist
Lubbock, Texas
Prior to joining PhytoGen, I had noticed that the germplasm coming out of PhytoGen’s robust West Texas breeding program that will serve the entire Southwest was producing high, consistent yields and was well suited...
If a cotton producer has questions about weed resistance, he will find the answers at the Beltwide Cotton Conferences (BWCC) on Jan. 5-7 in New Orleans.
This will be one of the key topics of discussion at the Consultants Conference, as well as the Technical Conferences. Obviously, other issues of interest are on the schedule, but perhaps none is timelier than this expensive problem.
Most observers agree that cotton producers have made remarkable progress in understanding this situation and implementing workable strategies. But, there is still much to learn as new technologies become available to cotton production.
“The good news is that we’ve made great progress in controlling resistant pigweed in cotton,” says Tom Barber, Arkansas Extension weed specialist and chairman of the BWCC Weed Science Conference.
“I think our farmers completely understand the importance of overlapping residual herbicide applications. What has us concerned is some PPO (protoporphyrinogen oxidase) resistance that we’ve discovered in seven counties in Arkansas. Fortunately, they’ve all been in soybean fields and not cotton.”
Barber says the big concern is will Reflex herbicide still give farmers the necessary control if the PPO resistance problem moves into cotton fields.
It is another tool in the toolbox for cotton farmers. It will definitely help us out and is something that we need.” – Tucker Miller
One fact is clear about today’s cotton production. Numerous strategies exist to deal with glyphosate-resistant...
By Larry Steckel, Jackson, TN
I have been very proud of how good a job most of our producers are doing handling glyphosate-resistant (GR) Palmer amaranth. In both 2013 and 2014, I did not get a report of a cotton...
SePRO Corporation has collaborated with weed scientists from universities, USDA, Cotton Incorporated and the National Cotton Council to develop a new herbicide mode of action for cotton. Brake, with the active ingredient fluridone, was discovered approximately 35 years ago...
I grew up on a farm near Drew in the Mississippi Delta. My dad, H.T. Miller, Jr. sent me to a scouting school when I was 15 years old. During the summer months, I checked cotton for local farmers, then went on to study agriculture at Mississippi State University.
A decade and nearly $1 billion have been spent on the management of glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth by Geo-rgia cotton producers. Who could have known in 2004 when we couldn’t kill a pigweed with Roundup in Macon County, Ga., that our entire agricultural industry was beginning the process of changing forever.
CHRIS DRAKE
OWNER OF SANDY POINTS FARMS AND
TERRITORY AGRONOMIST FOR PHYTOGEN COTTONSEED
NEWSOMS, VA.
I am a fourth-generation farmer in Southampton County, Va. During the summers while in college, I was employed by different entities in which I worked with cotton programs,...
Our northern friends will claim that southerners moan and groan way too much during the winter months. We simply don’t know what cold weather is all about, or so the critics say. When the weather forecasts call for two inches of snow, we panic and clean out the grocery stores. Our critics may be right about that.
BY TOMMY HORTON
EDITOR
If you read through the March issue of Cotton Farming that deals with pre-planting preparations and the ongoing battle against weed resistance, you can understand how serious this problem is. Our lead story certainly connects to the...
Seed treatments are an important investment for cotton farmers to make each year. Most will say that it’s mindboggling to think about the front-end costs made in a crop before it ever comes out of the ground.
But those same...
By Tommy Horton
Editor
When it comes to learning important lessons, Missouri cotton producer Steve Droke and his son Skyler are in a class by themselves. They have learned through experience what it takes to prepare for a new crop season...
When we look at our USDA estimated yield of 956 pounds per acre, most producers are disappointed. When comparing our yield with some of our other Delta states, we note that their yields were much higher.
In my estimation, we had the potential, but it is hard to overcome the effects of three weeks of heavy rainfall in July and August.
