2014 Cotton Varieties and Technologies Planted in Georgia
Don Shurley, Guy Collins, and Jared Whitaker
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DP1252B2RF was the most popular cotton variety planted in Georgia for 2014. 2014 was the second consecutive year that DP1252B2RF topped all other varieties planted—accounting for 23.6% of acres planted this year and 20.6% last year.
DP1050B2RF was the second most popular variety for 2014 with 18.5% of acreage planted to that variety. This was the third consecutive year that DP1050B2RF ranked second among all varieties planted after being the top variety in 2011.
The GLB2 technology gained a significant share of Georgia acreage this year. ST6448GLB2 ranked third among varieties planted and accounted for 14.6% of acreage. This compares to only 3.9% of acreage last year. Another GLB2 variety, FM1944GLB2, accounted for another 5.4% of Georgia acreage this year.
PHY499WRF accounted for 8.5% of Georgia acreage this year compared to 19.5% last year but remains in the top 5. PHY427WRF accounted for 3.4% of acreage this year.
AM UA48, a conventional/non-transgenic variety, accounted for 2.6% of the state’s acreage this year. Two other Deltapine® varieties (DP1044B2RF and DP 0912B2RF) round out the top ten varieties planted this year.
B2RF technology accounted for almost 62% of the acres planted in Georgia in 2014 (Table 2). This was down slightly from just over 64% last season. WRF technology also declined in acreage share—14% this year compared to 27.3% last year.
For 2014, GLB2 technology was the big gainer—accounting for 20.4% of acreage compared to only 6.2% last year. LLB2 varieties and technology, accounting for 8.4% of acreage in 2011, has declined as planting has shifted to GLB2.
Since the loss and phase-out of single-gene Bt technology and DP555BR in 2010, no single variety now dominates the share of Georgia acreage. Beginning in 2011, the top 4 varieties account for about two-thirds or more of the states acreage. The top 5 varieties account for about three-fourths of acreage.
In 2014, all Deltapine® varieties planted accounted for 59% of acres planted; all Bayer CropScience Fibermax® and Stoneville® varieties accounted for 22% of acreage; all Phytogen® varieties accounted for 14.4% of acreage.