Earlier this week at the Deltapine New Product Evaluator (NPE) Summit, Monsanto announced the commercialization of Bollgard 3 XtendFlex Cotton, the first commercial cotton product with full federal approvals for the trait and in-crop herbicide system to combine three modes of action for lepidopteran insect control and herbicide tolerance.
According to the company, the introduction of Bollgard 3 XtendFlex technology marks a milestone for innovation in cotton, giving growers access to best-in-class germplasm while providing enhanced, season-long protection against damage caused by key lepidopteran pests, and the ability for in-crop use of dicamba.
Bollgard 3 XtendFlex technology is built on the success of its predecessors. Containing a third protein, Vip3A, that provides a third mode of action in addition to the Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab Bt proteins found in Bollgard II. The introduction provides three unique proteins and modes of action, helping provide better insect control while increasing the longevity of the technology.
“This product has been highly anticipated by growers, and we are excited to bring Bollgard 3 XtendFlex technology to the marketplace,” says Jessie Christiansen, Monsanto cotton team lead.
A limited release of Bollgard 3 XtendFlex to select NPE growers is planned in 2017, with a full-scale launch planned for 2018.
Deltapine Class of 17 Varieties Announced
During the summit, Monsanto also unveiled its Deltapine Class of 17 cotton varieties. The industry’s first Bollgard II XtendFlex cotton variety with root-knot nematode (RKN) resistance and a high-performing early- to mid-maturity cotton variety were named to the Deltapine Class of 17.
Both new varieties, DP 1747NRB2XF and DP 1725 B2XF, were proven to perform by Deltapine NPE growers, who grew the varieties in large-acre plots under their own management systems in 2016. The growers’ evaluation and feedback were important to the selection of lines for commercial advancement.
DP 1747NRB2XF is the first Bollgard II XtendFlex variety that offers RKN resistance. The nematode resistance (NR) breeding trait provides season-long control to cotton plants by enabling strong root growth and reducing RKN populations in the soil profile. In NPE plots and Deltapine market development trials, DP 1747NRB2XF outyielded both DP 1454NRB2RF and DP 1558NRB2RF, two standards for yield potential in RKN-resistant varieties. DP 1747NR B2XF has shown comparable yield potential to the best-yielding commercial varieties on the market today in fields with and without RKN pressure. An added benefit of DP 1747NRB2XF is that it offers the weed control benefits of Bollgard II XtendFlex technology, part of the Roundup Ready Xtend crop system.
DP 1725 B2XF is an early- to mid-maturity variety that has shown exceptional yield potential in the Mid-South and Southeast. It is a variety that offers improved fiber quality over DP 1522 B2XF and has shown an improvement in yield potential as well.
“When we can commercialize varieties that are better than products like DP 1522 B2XF, that’s a real accomplishment because we’ve set the bar very high with the Deltapine Class of 15 and Class of 16 cotton varieties,” says Keylon Gholston, Deltapine cotton products manager. “We continue to bring varieties to cotton growers that offer top-end yield and fiber quality potential, coupled with the leading technologies in the industry.”
