By Ron Smith
Improving yield and quality remain top priorities for cottonseed research
for the combined forces of Monsanto and Delta and Pine Land Co., but
achieving those goals also includes adding new transgenic traits and
identifying more stress tolerant varieties.


?For anything we do, we still look at yield and fiber quality,? says Dave
Albers, cotton germplasm manager for Delta and Pine Land. ?U.S. cotton
farmers now grow for the world market and quality standards are higher. But
growers still get paid for pounds so we want them to produce pounds of high
quality cotton.?

Albers says the immediate goal is to continue improving germplasm for the
second generation of transgenic traits, Roundup Ready Flex and Bollgard II.
?We have an opportunity for now and to develop a platform for the next
generation of traits.?

New traits will come from several approaches. ?We have a germplasm group
working with a water use group, for instance,? Albers says. ?They do the
same kind of testing to identify the best drought tolerant gene.?

He says a variety with more efficient water use will perform better under
irrigation and will exhibit a better yield response under stress. ?This will
be a huge benefit to growers. We will have a broader base of tests across
various environments and regions. Utilizing this testing platform and
advances in our molecular breeding program we hope to identify lines that
handle tough environmental conditions better.?

Albers says researchers rely on new technology to ?quantify stress
tolerance. We have new probes and other techniques.?

Albers says more drought tolerant varieties will produce more bolls on key
fruiting positions. He says the process is streamlined by several
specialized groups working together.

Conventional breeding remains an integral part of the process. ?That?s the
basis of a stronger platform,? he says. But he does not expect conventional
varieties to move the market, ?because sales are low.

?Customers (who want conventional varieties) have to order two years ahead.
If they want them for 2010, they need to order them now so we can plan
production. Our goal is to demonstrate the value of technology.?

He says getting new varieties in the ground and through the processing
system is a key. Cotton processed through a micro-gin, for instance, may not
demonstrate quality characteristics as realistically as in a commercial gin.
?The micro-gin is a good tool, but real gins tweak (settings) so results may
differ.

?We?re trying to get new varieties in the hands of growers and have them
figure out how to make them work. We have an aggressive program to get
growers great exposure to our new products.?

?Monsanto is committed to cotton,? says Eric Cerny, cotton drought tolerance
manager for Monsanto. ?The next five to 10 years will be exciting. We
recognize the challenges and are putting resources into meeting them.?

The process takes time, says Ty Witten, biotech cotton trait development
lead for Monsanto. ?Monsanto is moving aggressively with dicamba resistant
lines.? He says the goal is to develop a variety tolerant to dicamba,
glufosinate (Ignite or Liberty) and Roundup Ready Flex. This next generation
of herbicide tolerance is being tested in the field for tolerance, efficacy
and agronomics.

Monsanto also is working on Bollgard III gene technology that will be
resistant to foliar feeding insects. Also planned are stacked varieties of
the three-way herbicide tolerance and enhanced insect resistance.
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