INDIANAPOLIS, March 1, 2024 — PhytoGen® cottonseed, the U.S. cottonseed brand of Corteva Agriscience, won first place in both the 2023 Mississippi State University (MSU) Cotton Official Variety Trials (OVTs) and the 2023 MSU On-Farm Cotton Variety Trials, demonstrating consistently high yield potential in third-party trials.
PhytoGen® brand PHY 411 W3FE was the highest yielder across seven MSU OVT locations, averaging 1,764 lb/A. PHY 411 W3FE outyielded competitive varieties DP 2127 B3XF and NG 4190 B3XF by 90 lb/A and 115 lb/A, respectively. Three of the five top-yielding varieties came from PhytoGen, including PhytoGen® brand PHY 415 W3FE.1
In the 2023 MSU On-Farm Cotton Variety Trials, PHY 411 W3FE was the No. 1 yielder across all 16 locations. In the Mississippi Delta locations, PHY 411 W3FE averaged 1,726 lb/A and beat the next-best variety, DP 2127 B3XF, by 298 lb/A.2
Corteva Product Agronomist Chris Main, Ph.D., says this performance in Mississippi’s preeminent university cotton trials is indicative of the genetic yield potential of newer PhytoGen® brand varieties.
“When you look at the results of the Mississippi State trials, it’s clear that PhytoGen cottonseed offers exceptionally high yield potential when compared to competitors,” Main said. “Not only did we have the highest-yielding variety in both trials but we also had seven of the top 12 varieties in the MSU OVTs. That paints a clear picture of the yield potential and consistency across our variety portfolio.”
Main says these results are corroborated across the Cotton Belt, where PhytoGen brand varieties demonstrated strong performance in other university and third-party trials in 2023. PhytoGen brand varieties won locations across the cotton states in trials including the Texas A&M University Replicated Agronomic Cotton Evaluation (RACE) trials and Auburn University OVTs.
“As growers make final variety decisions for 2024, they can look at third-party trial performance from across the Cotton Belt and have confidence in the yield potential of PhytoGen brand varieties,” Main said. “Yield potential and consistency are critical to cotton production, and our customers tell us that PhytoGen cottonseed delivers both. Producers can count on PhytoGen W3FE varieties to keep profit potential high on their operations.”
Considerations for 2024 planting
Main says this consistent performance is enhanced by PhytoGen Breeding Traits™that are built into every seed. These native traits protect against yield-robbing pests and diseases to keep plants healthy against common seasonal challenges. When choosing varieties to plant this year, Main recommends growers consider the additional value these yield protection traits bring to the farm.
Every PhytoGen® W3FE variety comes with built-in resistance to bacterial blight — a problem many growers in the Midsouth and Southeast encountered in 2023.
“Bacterial blight may not be a problem every year, but it can severely impact yield — and the only defense is a resistant variety,” Main said. “Last season, many farms were impacted by bacterial blight, but PhytoGen W3FE varieties were protected due to their native resistance.”
Another breeding trait that drives consistency is resistance to reniform and root-knot nematodes. PhytoGen brand varieties with the highest yield potential come with nematode protection, so growers don’t have to choose between yield and nematode resistance. When roots are protected from nematodes, plants can better uptake water and nutrients to optimize plant health and production.
“We’ve seen customers make incredible leaps forward in yield potential in fields where root-knot and reniform nematodes have historically lowered production,” Main said. “We’ve also seen customers make record yields on fields that they believed didn’t have nematode issues. They now realize a small presence of nematodes may have cost them more yield than previously thought.”
As growers make plans for 2024, Corteva has local PhytoGen teams available to help growers get the right varieties on the right fields. A broad portfolio gives growers the opportunity to match the best variety to the agronomic situation, and local experts from these teams can help producers choose which varieties will provide the best yield potential.
“From the Mississippi Delta to southern Georgia to the Texas Panhandle, we have varieties for every acre with the yield protection traits to help growers maximize profitability,” Main said. “Along with our varieties, local PhytoGen teams have agronomic expertise to help growers get the most from their cotton acres in the 2024 season.”
PhytoGen® brand PHY 411 W3FE won first place in both the 2023 Mississippi State University (MSU) Cotton Official Variety Trials (OVTs) and the 2023 MSU On-Farm Cotton Variety Trials, demonstrating consistently high yield potential in third-party variety evaluations.
