Deltapine New Product Evaluator Grower Summit held, 2022 cotton varieties released

The Deltapine New Product Evaluators Program—where commercial growers plant experimental cotton varieties to determine the best seed to put on the market—released the class of 2022 cotton seed varieties at their 14th annual NPE Summit. The in-person event was held in Scottsdale, Arizona, Dec. 10 to 12, with more than 120 Deltapine cotton growers in attendance.

“The previous two classes of Deltapine cotton varieties included a range of maturities with high yield potential and outstanding fiber quality, which raised the bar on performance in Bollgard 3 XtendFlex cotton, according to NPE growers,” said Keylon Gholston, Deltapine cotton products manager. “The Class of ’22 certainly continues the trend of high end-performance potential.”

The first variety in the class of 2022 is DP 2239 B3XF. It is a mid-maturity Bollgard 3 XtendFlex cotton variety with exceptional fiber quality potential. According to Deltapine, the distinct cotton germplasm of the DP 2239 B3XF variety allows for a broad fit with consistent performance across varying growing conditions, very similar to the performance of DP 1646 B2XF. It was reported that many NPE growers reported that DP 2239 B3XF out-yielded DP 1646 B2XF on their farms in 2021 and was very responsive to plant growth regulators.

The next variety in the Deltapine Class of 2022 is DP 2211 B3TXF, which is an early-maturity cotton variety with Bollgard 3 ThryvOn with XtendFlex Technology. This technology will be the industry’s first biotech trait to provide defense against tarnished plant bugs and thrips species. This variety has impressed growers with high yields and held its own against varieties from the past two NPE classes located in short-season markets.

“NPE growers wanted this variety named to the Class of ’22 because of yield performance and maturity,” said Gholston. “Demonstrating solid performance across the upper Southeast and upper Midsouth, this variety showed us in 2021 that it also has the ability to travel into southern markets and still offer stable yield potential. We believe DP 2211 B3TXF will be a solid companion product to DP 2131 B3TXF, offering growers ThryvOn Technology protection in an early maturing cotton variety.”

According to Deltapine, DP 2211 B3TXF and DP 2131 B3TXF will only be available for planting only through the Deltapine Stewarded Ground Breakers Field Trials. Prior to commercial release, the growers and consultants managing field trials are providing feedback on the technology, including insect scouting and agronomic management recommendations for the Bollgard 3 ThryvOn with XtendFlex Technology cotton varieties.

“Since we began the NPE Program in 2008, our goal has been to ensure pre-commercial variety candidates offer increased performance potential and improvement over what is currently available in a Deltapine brand seed bag,” said Gholston. “During evaluation, NPE growers must see improved performance potential or the variety candidate will not advance. Based on the positive performance experienced among NPE growers, these two variety candidates have been chosen for the Class of ’22.”

In addition to the class of 2022 varieties, Deltapine awarded yield contest winners, including Daryl and Doyle Schniers of San Angelo, Texas, with the DP 2239 B3XF variety that yielded 2,615 pounds per acre.

To learn more about the Deltapine NPE program and the cotton seed varieties in the 2021 class, visit Deltapine.com/NPE.

Lacey Vilhauer can be reached at 620-227-1871 or [email protected].