Drought Tolerant FiberMax and Liberty Link Cotton Varieties for 2012

Bayer CropScience has several cotton varieties coming out for the 2012 growing season under their Liberty Link and FiberMax labels. Debbie Brown, Regional Agronomist for Bayer CropScience for the mid-Atlantic territory explains…

Brown:   We have several varieties coming out in 2012 that we’re very excited about.

SFN: You know, Debbie, the last couple of years have been catch as catch can when it comes to rain. What type of drought tolerance are your varieties offering for 2012:

Brown:  We’re finding that Stoneville 4145LLB2 has good drought tolerance. Not only does this variety have full tolerance to Liberty herbicide, it’s been our number one yielding variety in North Carolina two years in a row. In addition to that, under drought conditions this variety offers a strong stalk and the best micronair of anything we sell in the Carolinas.

SFN:  Which variety is making a good showing as far as herbicide tolerance?

Brown:  Oh, well that would be Fibermax 1944GLB2 is a very exciting cotton variety, it offers so much flexibility. This is the first cotton variety sold in the east that has full tolerance to glyphosate as well a s full tolerance to Liberty herbicide, so this gives growers a lot of flexibility in their weed management programs. And not only it’s a great germ plasm for the mid-Atlantic.

SFN:  I bet that comes in real handy for people that are fighting glyphosate-resistant weeds.

Brown:  it sure does. When you’re fighting glyphosate resistant weeds such as Palmer amaranth, you want to make sure that you rotate between various herbicides that have various modes of action, and Liberty is a great choice for that. And being able to apply a full rate, up to 43 ounces of Liberty over the top of your cotton is very important, and knowing that Bayer is going to stand behind that.

SFN:  And what other varieties do you have coming out for 2012?

Brown:  Well, we have Stoneville 5445LLB2, which is a new Liberty herbicide tolerant cotton. and this is variety is a great choice for growers that want the ability to spray full rates of Liberty over the top of their cotton, but maybe they need something later in maturity than Stoneville 4145LLB2, so there’s a difference in maturity anywhere from three to six days.

SFN:  Are these early plantable varieties, later plantable varieties? Are they so short-season that you could maybe come in behind wheat?:

Brown:  Well, we always want to make sure that the growers plant any of their cotton varieties into favorable weather conditions, however if you’re planting behind wheat, or planting a little bit later in the season, a good choice for that would be FiberMax 1944GLB2, it’s an early/medium maturity, however it is indeterminate so it can capitalize on late season warm, wet conditions.

SFN:  Well, if a grower wants more information on these new varieties or even some of the old stand-bys how would they go about getting that information?:

Brown:  They can contact their local dealership, or they can contact their local Bayer CropScience representative, or they can go to www.stoneville.com or www.fibermax.com.