New cotton varieties show promise for CQ growers
New Australian-bred cotton varieties currently under evaluation are set to offer central Queensland cotton growers some new options for the 2010 planting season.
Speaking at a field day hosted by Cotton Seed Distributors in Emerald, agronomist John Marshall said three new varieties with Monsanto’s Bollgard II and Roundup Ready Flex traits showed marked improvements in yield, as well as various fibre quality and insect resistance traits
“The Sicot 71BRF and Sicot 70BRF continue to be very good varieties for central Queensland but we’re pleased to be able to offer some alternatives to help growers spread some risk,” he said.“Probably of most interest is a normal leaf variety, slightly more vigorous in growth than the Sicot 71 types and with a big improvement in yield,” he said.
CSIRO cotton breeder Dr Warwick Stiller told growers the breeding line, nominally called CSX323BRF, in two years of evaluation in Emerald had yielded up to 10 percent higher than Sicot 71BRF – currently the most popular variety for CQ growers.
“We’ve also been looking at an okra-leafed variety that will be released as Siokra 24BRF – its yield in our Emerald trials over the past two seasons has been similar to Sicot 70BRF, plus it has been shown to be very effective in delaying the build-up in silverleaf whitefly populations,” he said.
“CQ growers will also be interested in a premium fibre breeding line, known at this stage as CSX326BRF. The growth habit of this variety is only slightly more vigorous than Sicot 71BRF with fibre properties similar to Sicala 350B but without the yield drag – it’s within a few percent of Sicot 70BRF,” he said.
Fellow CSIRO cotton breeder Dr Greg Constable said the tropical environment of central Queensland provided many challenges in plant breeding because no two seasons are the same – a challenging scenario for growers also.
“In this environment, one set of seasonal conditions will mean the variety selection and management decisions for this season may be completely different for the next.”
“This makes it difficult and probably the best way to manage it is to be aware of what your crop is doing through monitoring and trying to be responsive to things like weather forecasts,” he said.
“It is also possible to have a range of varieties and/or sowing dates on each farm which provide options to avoid unfavourable weather at varying times of the year,” he said.
John Marshall said picking of the CQ crop would commence in March and he was looking forward to seeing how the new varieties performed in the trials in the region.
“As soon as these trials have been ginned, the results will be up on the CSD website so growers will immediately know how they go,” he said.
Around 30 growers and crop consultants attended the field day which had to be moved indoors due to rain.
12 February 2010
Above: CSIRO cotton breeders Dr Greg Constable and Dr Warwick Stiller and CSD agronomist John Marshall inspect new Australian-bred varieties on trial in Emerald.