A two-year agronomic trial conducted by Delta and Pine Land
Company found that the company’s experimental cotton variety,
DPLX 985 EB, which contains the Bollgard II™ gene, could be
successfully used for future varietal development programs.
"DPLX 985 EB performed very well throughout this series
of tests," says Jay S. Mahaffey, entomologist for D&PL.
"Lint yields indicate that DPLX 985 EB yielded
significantly more lint, had significantly higher micronaire and
longer fiber than the other DP 50-type varieties included in the
trials.
"Throughout the trials we observed no unacceptable
characteristics of
DPLX 985 EB in plant growth, yield or fiber qualities in any
of the tested areas," Mahaffey says. "Although a range
of response was determined in all of the measured parameters,
none of the tested varieties fell outside the acceptable range
for commercial cotton varieties. As expected, we found that the
environment in which a variety is planted has a significant
effect on its performance in the areas of plant growth, fiber
quality and yield."
Nineteen trials were conducted across the Cotton Belt in 1999
and 2000 to compare the agronomic acceptability of DPLX 985 EB
to currently available Bollgard™ and conventional varieties.
These varieties included Deltapine 50, DP 50 B, DP 50 B/RR,
NuCOTN 33 B, PM 1218 BG/RR and others. The trials measured plant
growth, fiber quality, yield and lint turnout.
Results of the trials, Two-Year Summary of the Agronomic
Performance of One Bollgard II™ Donor Variety, were
presented by Mahaffey at the Beltwide Cotton Conferences in
Anaheim, Calif.
Bollgard™ and Bollgard II™ are registered trademarks of
Monsanto.
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 more than 80 years, the
Mississippi-based company has drawn from its diverse germplasm
base to breed superior plant varieties. Delta and Pine Land has
offices in seven states and facilities in several foreign
countries and trades under the NYSE symbol DLP.
