2019 MSU Extension On-Farm Cotton Variety Demonstration Program

View the PDF above for individual trial location data.

2019 County Trial Locations and Cooperators

Trials arranged and conducted by Darrin Dodds, PhD.

Assistance provided by Lucas Franca, Jake McNeal, Steven Hall, Brint Lindsey, Ty Dickson, Eli Hobbs, and Wilson Whitlock.

Special thanks to Tyson Raper, PhD, University of Tennessee – West Tennessee Research and Education Center.

Table 1. Locations, growers, and cooperating agronomists for 2019 MSU Extension On-Farm Cotton Variety Trial program.

Location	Grower	Agronomist
Brooksville	Darrin Dodds	Darrin Dodds
Bruce	Trey Brower	Darrin Dodds
Coffeeville	Coley Bailey	Darrin Dodds
Crawford	Rodney Mast/Lowell Mullett	Darrin Dodds
Edwards	Kendall Garraway	Darrin Dodds
Ellistown	Larry Coker	Charlie Stokes
Eupora	Matt Knight	Bill Burdine
Glendora	Mike Sturdivant	Darrin Dodds
Greenwood	John Moor	Andy Braswell
Greenwood	Travis Dunn	Andy Braswell
Louise	Byron Seward	Darrin Dodds
Mayersville	Chase Mahalitic	Darrin Dodds
Mississippi State	Darrin Dodds	Darrin Dodds
Okolona	Matthew Poe	Bill Burdine
Natchez	Matthew Guedon	Darrin Dodds
Sledge	Sledge Taylor	Darrin Dodds
West Point	Ben Harlow	Charlie Stokes

Mississippi State University Extension sincerely appreciates the time and effort of the cooperating growers and Mississippi State University agronomists. In addition, several independent consultants provided a tremendous level of assistance with these trials, including Ty Edwards, Jason Grafton, Bert Falkner, Tucker Miller, and Tim Richards. Sincere gratitude is also extended to the following seed companies and representatives for providing seed for these trials: BASF, Andy White; Crop Production Services/Dyna-Gro, Scott Cummings; Phytogen Cottonseed, Tom Eubank; Americot/NexGen, Chase Samples; and Delta and Pine Land, Greg Ferguson. Cooperation from all aforementioned parties is essential for success of the MSU Extension On-Farm Cotton Variety Trials. In addition, partial financial support for this project was provided by each participating company and Cotton Incorporated.

Introduction

The cotton variety selection process is often difficult and, in many cases, leaves growers wondering for the remainder of the growing season whether they made the right variety selection decisions. Furthermore, the rapid introduction of new varieties and discontinued production of “older” varieties has become commonplace over the past several years

Historically, a premier variety would remain in the marketplace for a long period of time. However, a variety that performs well today typically has a life span of 4–6 years. One that does not perform well will likely remain on the market for less than 3 years. In addition, the historical standard for variety testing information was to have 2–3 years of data before releasing any given variety. Today, 1–2 years of “broad-scale” variety testing is common. Therefore, greater demand has been placed on testing a variety in as many environments as possible as a substitute for multiple years of data. In most cases, variety testing before release is conducted by private industry through a series of testing methods and through university official variety trial (OVT) programs. Official variety trial data is typically available for 1 year before the release of a given variety.

Our on-farm testing program is not designed to replace or compete with small-plot OVT testing programs; rather, it is designed to complement the data that is provided by OVT programs. The use of large-plot variety trial data in conjunction with small-plot OVT data provides a tremendous resource to Mississippi growers with respect to variety performance.

Methodology

The MSU Extension on-farm testing program is designed to test varieties in as many environments as possible. Limiting the number of entries allows for efficient planting and harvest operations and requires a minimum amount of time from cooperating growers. The number of variety entries each company is given depends on market share. In addition, one to two at-large entries are given to smaller companies in order to provide equal opportunity to as many seed providers as possible. Our on-farm variety tests are usually planted in 8- or 12-row sets using planting equipment provided by each respective grower. In some cases, 4- or 6-row sets are used, depending on site characteristics and grower preference. In addition, two replications of each variety are planted and harvested at all locations. Plot lengths ranged from 500 to 2,600 feet in 2019 depending on the characteristics of the field the trial was conducted in. Seed treatments are at the discretion of the company providing seed. A premium

seed treatment package including an insecticide, fungicide, and nematacide was provided for each variety. In-season management is at the discretion of the growers, who are encouraged to manage the plots as they would manage any given field on their farm.

Each replication for each variety was individually harvested using standard harvest equipment. Harvest weights were collected using a boll buggy or trailer modified to display the weight of seed cotton contained therein. Before all harvest operations, each boll buggy or trailer was calibrated by the Mississippi Department of Agriculture to ensure that accurate harvest weights were collected. An 8- to 10-pound seed cotton sample was collected for each variety tested. In order to reduce ginning time, subsamples from replications number 1 and 2 were composited into a single sample. Seed cotton was ginned at the University of Tennessee – West Tennessee Research and Education Center. Ginning equipment at the WTREC consists of a 20-saw Continental Eagle gin equipped with a stick machine, incline cleaners, two lint cleaners, and a condenser. Fiber quality for each ginned sample was determined using a high-volume instrument (HVI) located at the United States Department of Agriculture Classing Office in Memphis.

Entries

A maximum of 10 core variety entries per year are allowed in the MSU Extension On-Farm Cotton Variety Trial program. Entries are allotted by market share from respective companies. One entry per year is automatically given to the variety planted on the highest acreage in the previous year based on the annual Varieties Planted Report from USDA-AMS. In 2019, Monsanto/Delta and Pine Land was allotted three spots; Phytogen Cottonseed was allotted three spots; Americot was allotted two spots; and two additional “at-large” entries were given to provide parity between smaller companies with less resources than larger companies. Entries in the 2019 MSU Extension On-Farm Cotton Variety Trial program are listed in Table 2.

Table 2. 2019 MSU Extension On-Farm Cotton Variety Trial program entry list.

Slot #	Criteria/Company	Variety
1	At-large entry – Crop Production Services/Dyna-Gro	DG 3526 B2XF
2	At-large entry – BASF	ST 5600B2XF
3	Delta and Pine Land	DP 1646 B2XF
4	Delta and Pine Land	DP 1835 B3XF
5	Delta and Pine Land	DP 1845 B3XF
6	Americot	NG 3994 B3XF
7	Americot	NG 4936 B3XF
8	Phytogen Cottonseed	PHY 350 W3FE
9	Phytogen Cottonseed	PHY 400 W3FE
10	Phytogen Cottonseed	PHY 480 W3FE

Site Characteristics

Locations for the 2019 MSU Extension On-Farm Cotton Variety Trial program are listed on page 2. Yield trials were conducted at a total of 17 locations. Six locations were in the Delta and 11 in the Hills region. All Delta locations were irrigated; 10 of 11 Hill locations were dryland. The remaining Hill location (Crawford) was pivot irrigated. Field sites were chosen based on grower preference and required elements to conduct a reliable yield trial.

Reported Data and Analysis

Each data table includes the following: variety, lint yield, lint percent, micronaire, staple length (in inches), fiber strength, fiber uniformity, and leaf grade. Data

analysis using SAS v. 9.4 was conducted on all replicated trials. Grand means (averages) are presented as well as least significant differences (LSD). Least significant differences are the smallest value with which we can confidently say there is a difference between two means. Differences in means less than the given LSD value are likely due to variability within a given field or environment. For non-replicated trials and fiber data at individual locations, LSDs are not applicable. For locations that were replicated and data from one replication of a given variety was lost, SAS will interpret these data as missing and provide data analysis based on estimates. Therefore, average data for a given location may be slightly different than data reported.

2019 MSU Extension On-Farm Cotton Variety Trial Program

Table 3. Yield and fiber quality data pooled across 17 locations.

Variety	Lint Yield (lb/acre)	Lint Percent	Mic	Staple (in)	Strength (g/tex)	Uniformity (%)	Leaf
PHY 400 W3FE	1076*	40.2	4.4	1.18	33.0	82.2	3.5
DP 1646 B2XF	1009	39.5	4.5	1.20	31.1	82.1	3.4
DG 3526 B2XF	973	40.2	4.7	1.15	30.5	82.9	3.6
DP 1845 B3XF	968	39.2	4.2	1.23	33.4	82.6	3.8
NG 4936 B3XF	959	37.2	4.5	1.20	31.4	82.6	3.1
PHY 350 W3FE	952	37.6	4.5	1.18	32.1	82.7	3.5
ST 5600B2XF	952	39.3	4.8	1.17	32.8	82.7	3.6
DP 1835 B3XF	928	40.3	4.6	1.18	31.8	82.1	3.5
PHY 480 W3FE	904	38.2	4.5	1.18	32.3	83.1	3.5
NG 3994 B3XF	839	38.6	4.8	1.17	31.1	82.1	3.8
Grand Mean	956	39.0	4.5	1.18	31.9	82.5	3.5
LSD (0.05)	54	0.7	0.1	0.02	0.3	0.7	NS

* Yield not statistically different than the top-yielding variety.

Table 4. Yield and fiber quality data pooled over six Delta locations.

Variety	Lint Yield (lb/acre)	Lint Percent	Mic	Staple (in)	Strength (g/tex)	Uniformity (%)	Leaf
PHY 400 W3FE	1156*	39.4	4.4	1.20	34.0	82.6	3.3
DP 1646 B2XF	1050*	37.9	4.6	1.23	30.5	82.8	3.7
ST 5600B2XF	1017	39.2	4.7	1.17	33.4	82.3	3.8
NG 4936 B3XF	1007	37.3	4.5	1.21	31.5	81.8	3.0
DP 1845 B3XF	996	39.1	4.2	1.25	34.5	82.7	4.0
DG 3526 B2XF	995	39.6	4.7	1.14	30.4	82.7	3.5
PHY 350 W3FE	961	37.1	4.6	1.18	32.5	83.2	2.9
PHY 480 W3FE	959	37.9	4.4	1.19	33.1	83.2	3.3
NG 3994 B3XF	899	39.1	4.9	1.19	31.9	82.6	3.8
DP 1835 B3XF	896	39.5	4.5	1.18	32.0	82.0	3.2
Grand Mean	994	38.6	4.5	1.19	32.4	82.6	3.5
LSD (0.05)	117	1.4	0.3	0.03	1.5	NS	NS

* Yield not statistically different than the top-yielding variety.

Delta locations included Glendora, Greenwood (two locations), Louise, Mayersville, and Sledge.

Table 5. Yield and fiber quality data pooled over 11 Hill Region locations.

Variety	Lint Yield (lb/acre)	Lint Percent	Mic	Staple (in)	Strength (g/tex)	Uniformity (%)	Leaf
PHY 400 W3FE	1026*	40.7	4.4	1.16	32.4	82.0	3.5
DP 1646 B2XF	974*	40.4	4.5	1.19	31.4	81.6	3.2
DG 3526 B2XF	947	40.7	4.7	1.14	30.5	83.0	3.6
DP 1845 B3XF	939	39.4	4.3	1.21	32.7	82.5	3.6
PHY 350 W3FE	931	38.0	4.5	1.18	31.8	82.4	3.7
DP 1835 B3XF	928	40.9	4.6	1.17	31.6	82.1	3.7
NG 4936 B3XF	921	37.4	4.5	1.19	31.3	83.1	3.1
ST 5600B2XF	908	39.5	4.8	1.16	32.4	82.9	3.5
PHY 480 W3FE	866	38.5	4.5	1.17	31.9	83.0	3.5
NG 3994 B3XF	796	38.6	4.7	1.16	30.6	81.9	3.7
Grand Mean	923	39.4	4.5	1.17	31.7	82.4	3.5
LSD (0.05)	59	0.9	0.2	0.02	0.9	0.8	NS

* Yield not statistically different than the top-yielding variety.

Hill Region locations included Brooksville, Bruce, Coffeeville, Crawford, Edwards, Ellistown, Eupora, Mississippi State, Okolona, Natchez, and West Point.

Table 6. Yield and fiber quality data pooled over six irrigated locations.

Variety	Lint Yield (lb/acre)	Lint Percent	Mic	Staple (in)	Strength (g/tex)	Uniformity (%)	Leaf
PHY 400 W3FE	1137*	38.6	4.2	1.21	34.0	82.6	3.3
DP 1646 B2XF	1052*	38.0	4.3	1.23	30.6	82.8	3.6
NG 4936 B3XF	1013	36.3	4.3	1.22	31.5	82.4	3.0
ST 5600B2XF	1010	38.1	4.5	1.18	33.2	82.5	3.9
DG 3526 B2XF	984	38.7	4.5	1.15	30.5	83.0	3.4
DP 1845 B3XF	968	38.2	3.9	1.25	34.2	82.9	3.9
PHY 480 W3FE	923	36.8	4.2	1.20	33.0	83.5	3.1
PHY 350 W3FE	918	36.2	4.4	1.18	32.4	83.4	3.1
DP 1835 B3XF	880	39.0	4.3	1.19	32.1	82.1	3.1
NG 3994 B3XF	874	38.2	4.7	1.20	31.8	82.8	3.9
Grand Mean	976	37.8	4.3	1.20	32.3	82.8	3.4
LSD (0.05)	101	1.3	0.2	0.03	1.3	NS	NS

* Yield not statistically different than the top-yielding variety.

Irrigated locations included Crawford, Glendora, Greenwood (two locations), Louise, Mayersville, and Sledge.

Table 7. Yield and fiber quality data pooled over 10 dryland locations.

Variety	Lint Yield (lb/acre)	Lint Percent	Mic	Staple (in)	Strength (g/tex)	Uniformity (%)	Leaf
PHY 400 W3FE	1019*	41.0	4.4	1.16	32.3	82.0	3.6
DP 1646 B2XF	961*	40.3	4.6	1.18	31.4	81.6	3.2
PHY 350 W3FE	947	38.3	4.5	1.18	31.8	82.3	3.7
DP 1845 B3XF	946	39.7	4.4	1.21	32.8	82.4	3.7
DG 3526 B2XF	945	41.0	4.8	1.14	30.4	82.9	3.7
DP 1835 B3XF	936	41.0	4.7	1.17	31.5	82.1	3.8
NG 4936 B3XF	906	37.8	4.5	1.18	31.3	82.9	3.1
ST 5600B2XF	897	40.0	4.8	1.16	32.4	82.9	3.4
PHY 480 W3FE	872	38.9	4.6	1.16	31.8	82.9	3.7
NG 3994 B3XF	796	38.8	4.7	1.15	30.6	81.7	3.7
Grand Mean	923	39.7	4.6	1.17	31.6	82.4	3.6
LSD (0.05)	60	0.9	0.2	0.03	1.0	0.9	NS

* Yield not statistically different than the top-yielding variety.

Dryland locations included Brooksville, Bruce, Coffeeville, Edwards, Ellistown, Eupora, Mississippi State, Okolona, Natchez, and West Point.

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The information given here is for educational purposes only. References to commercial products, trade names, or suppliers are made with the understanding that no endorsement is implied and that no discrimination against other products or suppliers is intended.

Publication 3492 (reviewed 09-23)

By Brian K. Pieralisi, PhD, Assistant Professor; Darrin M. Dodds, PhD, Professor and Head; Bradley Norris, Research Associate; Joey Williams, Extension/Research Associate; and William Rutland, Extension Associate, Plant and Soil Sciences.