Mike Tyler of Lamesa, TX, farms in Andrews, Dawson and Gaines Counties. He’s relied on NexGen varieties for several years, especially NG 3406 B2XF – his “go-to variety.” But he has also been impressed with the “4-Series” of NexGen varieties he has recently tried.

“NG 4601 B2XF and NG 4689 B2XF have both done very well on my farms,” said Tyler. “And I really liked the vigor, plant size and drought tolerance of NG 4777 B2XF this year. It’ll be on some of my dryland and irrigated acres next year, because I believe it’s a fit for both.

“I also planted some NG 3780 B2XF on June 22 on some acres where cotton failed early in the season,” he added. “It did well. I really like the look and fit of that variety, too.”

It’s this type of grower satisfaction and response that has helped move Americot and its NexGen brand of varieties into a solid number two position in cottonseed market share. According to the 2018 Cotton Varieties Planted report, Americot’s NexGen varieties were planted on 30.7% of U.S. upland acres this year, including more than 42% of the acres in the Southwestern states.

“To have three of the top five planted varieties and five of the top ten in 2018 is something that has never happened in Americot’s history,” said Brad Littlefield, Americot product manager. “That shows the depth and breadth of our portfolio, and it makes me excited moving forward.”

The workhorse of the NexGen product line is still NG 3406 B2XF, a mid-to-early variety that has shown consistent yield and quality performance across the Cotton Belt, evidenced by its ranking as the top planted variety in the U.S. in 2016 and a solid number two in both 2017 and 2018.

But Littlefield also commented on other proven options in the company’s lineup:

“I think NG 4689 B2XF is going to continue to grow in popularity. We’ve found out that it travels better than we initially thought, and have seen it perform in areas where a medium to medium-early variety doesn’t typically fit. It responds well to PGRs, and growers have figured out how to make it work.”

“NG 3729 B2XF was offered in a limited supply in 2018. Early results are very exciting. It is performing well in the Mid-South and Southeast.”

“The disease package, maturity and performance seen from NG 3780 B2XF, especially in west Texas, leads us to believe this variety is going to be huge. It has good tolerance to both Verticillium wilt and bacterial blight and has done very well in the market area north of I-40.”

“In the Southeast and south Texas, our mid-to-full varieties have been really strong. NG 5007 B2XF took 9% of the market share in the Southeast this year, and NG 5711 B3XF really shined as well. Both have a great fit across the southern part of the Cotton Belt.”

Several of the company’s current varieties came to the market in limited quantities this year. That won’t be the case for 2019, as ramped up production will assure a consistent supply. And any decisions on new varieties for 2019 won’t be made until all field and trial data has been collected and reviewed. Potential candidates under evaluation all contain the B3XF technology.

“In the majority of our plots thus far, our new B3XFs are winning the trials or are at least in the top percentage of the varieties tested,” says Littlefield.

From Cotton Grower Magazine – November 2018

Jim Steadman is Senior Editor for Cotton Grower magazine. He has spent more than 40 years in agricultural writing and marketing.

Link to article