Topping university and commercial farm tests puts D&PL varieties in great demand throughout High Plains.

Texas High Plains cotton producers will have access to good seed supplies of top-performing Delta and Pine Land Company (D&PL) Bollgard II®/Roundup Ready® Flex cotton varieties in 2007.

These varieties are expected to enhance the already strong lineup of high-yielding D&PL products for America’s largest cotton-production region.

D&PL cotton varieties demonstrated superior yield performance over the competition in the High Plains last year in both university and D&PL testing, and producers north and south are reporting top-end yields and premium fiber quality with varieties such as DP 143 B2RF, DP 117 B2RF and DP 164 B2RF.

“In last year’s heat and drought conditions, DP 143 B2RF yielded well, but where farmers had it under irrigation, it yielded extremely well,” said Tom Speed, Western Regional Technical Services Manger for D&PL. “Based on grade sheets, the fiber quality on DP 143 B2RF was excellent, especially in locations that had less than ideal growing conditions last year. DP 117 B2RF, an early-maturity variety, and DP 164 B2RF, a mid-full maturity, also showed good potential for premium fiber quality and top-end yields.”

D&PL has raised the potential on yield and fiber quality in its cotton varieties and the new B2RF lines are no exception, said Speed.

“DP 445 BG/RR and DP 455 BG/RR have proven themselves capable of delivering outstanding yields in the High Plains, and the D&PL B2RF varieties have shown potential to produce premium fiber quality,” Speed said. “They have also showed high yield stability in a variety of conditions and growing systems.”

D&PL will also have a supply of PM 2140 B2RF and PM 2141 B2RF, companion varieties developed in the D&PL breeding and research program located in Haskell, Texas. Both varieties are very early Bollgard II/Roundup Ready Flex options for the northern reaches of the High Plains, including Oklahoma and Kansas. They’ve both demonstrated the potential for combined high yield and premium fiber quality in 2006 testing. With their very early maturity, PM 2140 B2RF and PM 2141 B2RF will make nice additions to the D&PL variety lineup in 2007, says Speed.

A good supply of seed is also available for DP 121 RF, a variety that has shown excellent performance potential in the High Plains. DP 121 RF has a maturity very similar to DP 434 RR and it demonstrated good fiber qualities last season, typically maintaining a micronaire above 4.0 in situations where many other varieties fell below 4.0 mic.

Delta and Pine Land Company is committed to developing cotton varieties that are well-adapted for all the cotton-production regions of Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Kansas.

“D&PL utilizes its two breeding and research programs located in Texas – one in the High Plains at Hale Center, and another in the Rolling Plains of Haskell – to develop varieties that offer top-end yield and fiber quality potential for Texas and all of the Southwest,” said Dave Albers, Vice President of Technical Services at D&PL. “At those same stations we also broadly test germplasm from the other U.S. and global D&PL breeding programs. Why? To identify and bring in from outside the region, new growth and yield characteristics that can improve the cotton that’s being grown in the region. Additionally, D&PL is working with new technologies, including insect-control and herbicide-tolerance traits, with the potential to positively impact cotton variety development for the Southwest.”

Delta and Pine Land Company is a commercial breeder, producer and marketer of cotton planting seed, as well as soybean seed, in the Cotton Belt. For almost 90 years, the company has used its extensive plant breeding programs, drawing from a diverse germplasm base, to develop improved cotton varieties. Delta and Pine Land Company (NYSE: DLP), headquartered in Scott, Mississippi, has offices in eight states and facilities in several foreign countries. For more information, please refer to the company’s website at www.deltaandpine.com.

D&PL and Deltapine are registered trademarks of Delta and Pine Land Company. Yield. Fiber. More. is a trademark of Delta and Pine Land Company.

Bollgard®, Roundup Ready® and Bollgard II® are registered trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC and used under license.