Programs help cotton growers with varieties

Americot Inc., Lubbock, Texas, the supplier of NexGen cotton seed, has expanded its research and testing programs to help identify cotton varieties best suited for particular geographic locations.

Through its program known as Americot Cotton Evaluation trials, the company is able to observe and evaluate cotton variety candidates in “real-world” situations. Comprehensive research on those test plots demonstrates how a new NexGen variety should perform in specific areas under regional conditions such as climate, elevation, water availability and local soil types, along with other variables such as pest pressure and PGRs.

Thanks to grower support, Americot has been able to hire more research professionals and increase the company’s field-testing capabilities. In 2018, Americot sponsored 75 ACE test plots and that number is now closer to 200, stretching from Arizona to the Atlantic coast.

Varieties in ACE trials are monitored for performance metrics, including yield, length, vigor, maturity, height, disease tolerance and stormproof bolls. That data is then correlated to the geographic area in which a new variety will be sold.

“Through our expanded field research, we want growers in a certain area to say with confidence, ‘this variety will work here,’” said Doug Jost, director of research and cotton germplasm. “We want Americot customers to know that when they choose one of our cotton seed products, it’s been tested in conditions that might up to what’s in their own backyard.”