Plant for Success: FiberMax and Stoneville Cotton Release New Varieties for 2017

Growers can ease pest and disease pressure, increase yield potential with new varieties

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Jan 05, 2017, 12:01 ET

DALLAS, Jan. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Cotton growers searching for the right variety to match to the right field can include four additional options in their decision-making process. Bayer today added two FiberMax® varieties and two Stoneville® varieties to its high-quality, high-yielding lineup of cottonseed bred to conquer pests and increase a grower's profit opportunity.

"Our breeding focus is on providing the science growers need to complement their exemplary management skills; it's a collaboration that growers can rely on to enhance their profit under today's pest pressures," says Jason Wistehuff, Bayer Product Manager for FiberMax and Stoneville cotton. "These new varieties are tangible examples of Bayer's continuing commitment to cotton."

In addition to high yield, these new varieties score high marks for the primary characteristics and traits that are important to growers this year, such as bacterial blight resistance and worm-resistance traits.

"Increased pressure from bacterial blight and lepidopteran pests escalates the need for disease-resistant varieties and worm-resistant traits," Wistehuff says. "The tried-but-true saying that our best defense is a good offense is particularly relevant for growers who need to manage for bacterial blight and to reduce treatment application in fields under worm pressure."

Three of the varieties released this year also are armed with either the TwinLink® or TwinLink Plus trait, both of which provide season-long Bt protection from a broad spectrum of major lepidopteran pests, including tobacco budworm, pink bollworm, cotton bollworm and beet armyworm. TwinLink Plus is a three-gene trait; TwinLink is a two-gene trait. The enhanced activity of TwinLink Plus against bollworm and armyworm decreases the likelihood of needing supplemental applications to control worm pests when compared to all two-gene traits.

Including weed-control traits is a given in this era of resistance. Each of the new varieties from FiberMax and Stoneville is equipped with exclusive Bayer herbicide-tolerant traits: GlyTol® and LibertyLink®.

GlyTol provides the flexibility of over-the-top glyphosate herbicide treatment and delivers proven crop safety to various glyphosate formulations with no impact on yield, quality or plant height.
LibertyLink arms growers with the ability to apply Liberty herbicide in-season. Liberty is a broad-spectrum herbicide and a powerful tool against glyphosate-resistant weeds, including Palmer amaranth, marestail and water hemp.

The new FiberMax varieties are:

FM 1888GL. An early/medium maturity variety that offers outstanding yield potential and consistent performance in the High Plains. FM 1888GL offers bacterial blight resistance alongside the weed control traits West Texas growers need to control weeds: GlyTol and LibertyLink. This variety starts strong with great early season vigor, features good storm tolerance to hold the bolls, and finishes with high gin turnout and great fiber quality.
FM 1953GLTP. An early/medium maturity Glytol LibertyLink TwinLink Plus variety that provides bacterial blight resistance and enhanced protection against bollworm and fall armyworm. FM 1953GLTP has shown excellent yield potential and fiber quality across a wide range of environments. Bred for the South Texas growing environment, this variety also has shown a wide adaptation for the Rolling Plains, Eastern Texas and Oklahoma.

The new Stoneville varieties are:

ST 5020GLT. A medium maturity variety that delivers bacterial blight resistance in the best fiber package available in a Stoneville variety. Bred for the Eastern Cotton Belt – including the Southeast, Delta and Mid-Atlantic, ST 5020GLT offers excellent early season vigor and strong yield potential, with stable yield and fiber quality across a wide range of environments. ST 5020GLT delivers the exclusive Bayer weed- and worm-resistance traits growers need to manage their crops for high yield: TwinLink, to provide season-long resistance to a broad spectrum of worms; and GlyTol and LibertyLink to control herbicide-resistant and tough weeds with the unique mode of action provided by Liberty® herbicide.
ST 5517GLTP. A later medium maturity variety with the industry-leading three-gene Bt technology of TwinLink Plus. ST 5517GLTP provides excellent early season vigor and standability, bacterial blight resistance and good storm tolerance. Growers can look to this variety for exceptional yield potential and fiber quality across a wide range of environments – from Virginia to the Rolling Plains of Texas and Oklahoma.

In addition to the four new varieties for 2017, FiberMax and Stoneville continue to offer a stellar lineup of varieties that offer the high yield, premium quality, herbicide tolerance and disease and insect resistance growers need to choose the right seed for the right field.

Bayer is committed to bringing new technology and solutions for agriculture and non-agricultural uses. For questions concerning the availability and use of products, contact a local Bayer representative, or visit Crop Science, a division of Bayer, online at www.cropscience.bayer.us.

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