Seven New Cotton Varieties Come to Market for 2014 Season

Seven new cotton varieties designed to help cotton farmers meet some of their most challenging conditions are being released for the 2014 season.

Developed by Bayer CropScience, the new varieties can better handle tough-to-control weeds, insect pests and adverse planting conditions while producing high yields and excellent fiber quality.

All seven of the new FiberMax and Stoneville varieties incorporate stacked GlyTol LibertyLink technology for a wide window of over-the-top applications of Liberty herbicide and glyphosate. Four of them also contain a new technology called TwinLink for weed and insect control, including two BT genes for season-long protection against lepidopteran pests. A total of 13 FiberMax and Stoneville varieties with GlyTol LibertyLink technology are available in a range of maturities and adaptation across the Cotton Belt. 

Bayer CropScience currently is the only company that offers cotton varieties with stacked herbicide trait technology for applications of herbicides at full labeled rates without injury to the crop. 

"Cotton growers want high-yielding, high-quality varieties with traits that give them flexibility to control the yield-robbing pests in their field, whether those are hard-to-control weeds or worms," said Jeff Brehmer, U.S. product manager for FiberMax and Stoneville cotton. "Our newest FiberMax and Stoneville varieties provide just that: the best germplasm with the latest proprietary traits from Bayer CropScience." 

New FiberMax varieties available in 2014 include: 

FM 1830GLT and FM 2334GLT offer the GlyTol, LibertyLink and TwinLink (GLT) trait package for full tolerance to both Liberty herbicide and glyphosate, and two proprietary Bayer Bt genes for effective management of major lepidopteran pests. Both varieties offer excellent yield potential and fiber quality with the added benefit of Verticillium wilt tolerance. Adapted for the High Plains, FM 1830GLT has an early-medium maturity, and FM 2334GLT has a medium maturity. FM 2334GLT has very similar characteristics to FM 2484B2F, with the added benefit of two herbicide modes of action and even better fiber quality. 

FM 1320GL and FM 2322GL have the GlyTol LibertyLink (GL) traits for adaptation in areas of the High Plains. FM 1320GL has a very early maturity, the earliest offered from FiberMax, with excellent yield potential and good fiber quality. FM 2322GL is a medium-maturing variety with excellent yield potential and outstanding fiber quality. 

New Stoneville varieties available in 2014 include: 

ST 5032GLT and ST 5289GLT offer the GlyTol, LibertyLink and TwinLink (GLT) trait package for full tolerance to both Liberty herbicide and glyphosate, and two proprietary Bayer Bt genes for effective management of major lepidopteran pests. ST 5032GLT has an early-medium maturity with strong yield potential and excellent fiber quality. This variety complements ST 4946GLB2 and FM 1944GLB2 in the cotton-growing regions east of the Mississippi River. ST 5289GLT is a medium-maturing variety similar to ST 5288B2F, the No. 1 variety planted in the south Delta last season. ST 5289GLT has excellent yield potential, especially on marginal soil types, and good fiber quality.