Cotton

TAMCOT 22 - is the newest cotton variety release from the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station. It is a traditional mid to full season, picker-type upland cotton which was released in the summer of 2004.

The parents used in developing Tamcot 22 were breeding lines developed at the Cotton Improvement Laboratory (CIL) of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station (TAES) at College Station, Texas. Tamcot 22 was derived by hybridization and pedigree selection at Weslaco, Texas and initially evaluated for production in South Texas. Subsequently, Tamcot 22 has been evaluated throughout Central, South, and North Texas for three years.

Tamcot 22 has a growth habit similar to Deltapine 50 when grown with supplemental irrigation at College Station. It has varying levels of pubescence on the stems and leaves ranging from 7 to 72 trichomes/cm2 on the leaves. It possesses normal leaves and bract types, and is glanded and nectaried. Flowers from plants of Tamcot 22 have cream-colored petals and anthers/pollen. Full-size green bolls are longer than their width and are broader in the middle. Bolls have four locks with five occasionally. Open bolls resist shattering but are not stormproof and are suitable for picker harvesting.

Tamcot 22 is adapted to all production regions of Texas from the Rio Grande Valley to the Rolling Plains and westward to the Winter Garden Area. It performs well on the High Plains but does not have sufficient storm resistance for production in that region.

In 2000 and 2001, Tamcot 22 was tested at seven locations in Texas. Averaged over two years at all locations, Tamcot 22 produced 18% more lint than Sure-Grow 125 and FiberMax 832, and 25% more than Tamcot Sphinx. Over the same period of time, Tamcot 22 averaged 40.0% lint percent, FiberMax 832 averaged 37.4%, and Tamcot Sphinx 37.1%. Tamcot 22 had the highest numerical lint percent in 16 of 24 performance trials, and was second only to Stoneville 474 in the other 8 trials.

Foundation Seed of Tamcot 22 is under increase in 2004, and limited supplies may be available for spring planting of 2005. Application for Plant Variety Protection will be filed on Tamcot 22 and licensing options are currently under consideration.

TAMCOT SPHINX - has a high yield potential, early fruit set and maturity. The fiber quality is superior (staple length 1-1/32 - 1-1/16", strength 28-30 g/tex, micronaire 4.4-4.9). TAMCOT Sphinx has good seedling vigor, and it exhibits good cold and drought tolerance. It is highly resistant to pathogens causing bacterial blight and seedling diseases, and shows good resistance levels to Fusarium and Verticillium wilts, Phymatotrichum root rot, root-knot and reinform nematodes, and leaf spots. Sphinx has good resistance levels to insects, such as, aphids, thrips, fleahopper, boll weevil, tobacco budworm, and bollworm. Sphinx has an excellent gin turnout and a storm resistant boll. It is widely adapted and stable in performance. Yield and fiber quality results are based on data collected from tests conducted at 10 locations throughout the major cotton growing regions in Texas.

TAMCOT LUXOR - is the latest of the Tamcot releases. Luxor has a high level of resistance to some insects and pathogens and carries the genes for bacterial blight resistance. It has similar levels of resistance to root pathogens causing seedling disease, Verticillium and Fusarium wilts, Phymatotrichum root rot, and root-knot and reniform nematodes as Tamcot Sphinx. Luxor has similar levels of resistance to six insects (aphids, thrips, fleahopper, boll weevil, tobacco budworm, and bollworm) as Tamcot Sphinx, and higher levels of resistance to insects and pathogens than Tamcot CAB-CS. Under both well-irrigated and water stressed conditions, Luxor showed a slightly higher level of drought tolerance than Tamcot Sphinx and stability of production similar to Tamcot Sphinx. Luxor is an early maturing variety. It is similar in maturity to Tamcot HQ95 and Tamcot CAB-CS, and matures earlier than Tamcot Sphinx. All of the Tamcot varieties are significantly earlier in maturity than Deltapine 50. Luxor has a larger boll, and higher lint percentage than Tamcot Sphinx and Deltapine 50. Its fiber quality is equal to or better than the comparison varieties, except Tamcot Sphinx. Over five years of extensive testing, Luxor performed exceptionally well in the Coastal Bend, Upper Coast, Central Blacklands, Rolling Plains and High Plains Regions of Texas, and in Oklahoma.