From staff reports Kenny Melton, BASF’s Western Region Agronomic Manager, recently gave advice for boosting cotton production and mitigating disease.
Melton said that producers should be wary of past issues in specific fields as diseases typically recur, adding that Verticillium wilt stays within the field and may increase slightly year after year.
“We at FiberMax have many varieties that have very good tolerance to Verticillium wilt,” he said. “There is not anything totally immune to Verticillium wilt out there, but we have some of the best varieties out in the market today in terms of tolerance for Verticillium wilt.
Melton also discussed bacterial blight. While it may not be an issue every year, humid conditions promote its development.
“Actually, all of the FiberMax, say, one of our new ones, is actually resistant to bacterial blight, so we have got a good portfolio in terms of handling that disease,” Melton said.
For root-knot nematodes, Melton said they typically occur with Verticillium wilt. For that disease, he said its best to fully dig up the roots.
Melton added that BASF offers a prime seed treatment for protecting against diseases.
“There is just a complex of those early seedling diseases,” he said. “When you get cool, wet weather, those things can really devastate a stand and really reduce it to where it causes you to have a replant, even.”
Lastly, Melton mentioned the company’s transition to Axant Flex. This new technology includes genes for glyphosate, Liberty, Dicamba and Alite 27 herbicide tolerance, which is still awaiting Environmental Protection Agency’s approval.
“We are working with the EPA to get the label for the Alite 27,” Melton said. “We hope to have that by the end of this year, but it is more likely sometime in 2025.”