|
|
Replicated on-farm cotton variety trials and herbicide tests
| Name | Randy Cubbage | | Situation | Biotechnology was introduced to our state in 1996 on a farm basis with soybeans and cotton resistant to glyphosate herbicide (specifically Roundup at the time). This technology in cotton was offered to Lee County Extension by a Monsanto representative prior to that season.
Monsanto was trying to determine Extension's interest in establishing a large replicated demonstration to compare this technology to conventional cotton treated with conventional herbicides. Since that time, the Cooperative Extension Service in Lee County has participated with one of the Center of Excellence projects (1998-2001) sponsored by Monsanto. That project fit perfectly with the new trend towards conservation tillage (eliminating cultivation of row crops) and drastically reducing the need for the disk harrow on many farms. Since 1996, our local farmers are planting over 95% of their cotton and soybeans to the new technology, but have concerns about it. Some are not convinced the glyphosate resistance varieties yield is as good as conventional varieties. Until sufficient rainfall came in 2003, our county had seen numerous farmers either leaving the farming business or changing farming practices and getting out of cotton production. There is still talk of reduced cotton on farms in the county this coming season. The years 1998 thru 2002 have not been good for Lee County farmers due mainly to drought. | | Response | The last two cotton growing seasons, Clemson Extension, with the help of our cotton specialist, has conducted on-farm replicated variety trials to address these concerns. When treating the varieties the same (no glyphosate applied due to destruction of the conventional varieties), the biotech varieties yield very similar to the others. The question still surfaced, what happens when these varieties are treated with glyphosate on a farm basis? To respond to this, we established a large replicated demonstration on a farm site in 2003, and compared treatments to a Roundup Ready variety (DPL 555) of Roundup vs. treating the same variety with conventional herbicides. We compared these two treatments to a conventional variety as the check across the field. The results of this one replicated test showed no difference in yield between the same DPL 555 variety treated with or without glyphosate, yet both of these treatments out yielded the conventional check variety. | | Impact | Biotechnology is not any cheaper, but does have its advantages in our row crops. Reduced tillage, labor and fuel consumption are the most obvious benefits our farmers realize; however, the 2003 season is the first in six years to show increases in crop yields in the county to include cotton. Time savings is another big plus due to this technology. When asking farmers will they be better off to return to conventional methods of production, they do not hesitate to say “no way”. These projects will continue in 2004 in cotton and now in glyphosate-resistant corn to compare the methods. Hopefully, farmers will be able to give this technology a fair comparison and stay in business. According to research conducted by our state cotton specialist the last several years, our farmers had not been planting the best biotech varieties conducive to this area of the Southeast. Based on his current research, 47% of the cotton varieties planted in the state in 2003 were recommended varieties. This was a considerable increase over the last several years and the trend seems to be getting better. The research speaks for itself. |
Last update3/19/2008
This website is maintained by Tomika Orgbon.
|
