California Planting Cotton Seed Distributors (CPCSD), a non-profit, 100% grower-owned organization, is announcing the development of CPCSD's Acala Prema; a new acala cotton for the San Joaquin Valley of California. CPCSD Experimental Acala C-32 was re-named Acala Prema. Acala Prema will complete the Acala Cotton Board's (ACB) evaluation and be reviewed for release at the Board's March 1989 meeting. An acala cotton variety must undergo three years of evaluation in the ACB testing program and receive approval for commercial plantings in the One-Variety District of California.

Acala Prema is named for its "premium" quality fiber. Acala Prema has a stronger, finer, and slightly longer fiber than either Acala SJ-2 or Germain's Acala GC-510. Acala SJ-2 is the predominant variety in the San Joaquin Valley, while Germain's Acala GC-510 has been designated the ACB cotton standard. Large scale spinning tests have confirmed Acala Prema's superior spinning performance. In addition, Acala Prema is a Verticillium-wilt tolerant variety and has yielded well on non-wilt infested soils.