ABSTRACT

Over the past decade, Delta and Pine Land Company (D&PL), has been breeding to develop cotton cultivars that can potentially achieve high yields, meet the needs of the grower, and produce high fiber quality, meeting the needs of the mills. We compared three new D&PL cotton varieties, DP 555 BG/RR, DP 444 BG/RR, and DP 491 to varieties with high yield potential and/or high fiber quality grown in the U.S. The cotton varieties compared accounted for approximately 34% of the U.S. cotton acreage in 2002. Comparisons showing yield and fiber quality performance were made through direct head-to-head comparisons across the Cotton Belt using D&PL's internal trial data, as well as data from the public sector. Crop value, yield, staple length, micronaire, fiber length, % uniformity and loan value were expressed as % difference between the new varieties and the comparison varieties. DP 555 BG/RR outyielded four comparison varieties by an average of 14.5% and returned a 15.6% higher crop value per acre when averaged across the Cotton Belt. DP 444 BG/RR outyielded five comparison varieties by an average of 5.2% and returned an 8.0% higher crop value per acre when averaged across the Cotton Belt. DP 491 equaled or exceeded the lint yield of all comparisons. DP 491 exhibited excellent fiber quality traits and produced the greatest crop value per acre relative to its comparisons.