This winter, you can help cotton growers make smart seed decisions for the upcoming growing season. BASF’s 2026-27 cotton-seed portfolio featuring FiberMax® and Stoneville® cotton offers strong options worth comparing.
Be sure to talk through the following factors to determine the best seed choices for your customers. Customize your recommendations for individual field history.
Quick comparison: FiberMax and Stoneville cotton seed varieties
To aid in your grower conversations, here’s a quick look at some key points about FiberMax cotton and Stoneville cotton. The examples listed are only a sample, and not all benefits will apply to all varieties.
Focus on yield performance and economic impact of the best cotton seeds
When your growers select the right cotton seed, they’re making a good financial decision. Top-performing cotton varieties can boost yields by 116 pounds of lint per acre.1 For growers with 90% adoption rates, that translates to the potential to generate $35.2 million in additional revenue.2
On the other hand, improper variety selection can be costly, knocking up to $127 per acre off of potential returns.3 It’s critical that you as an ag retailer advise your grower to make data-driven management choices.
Evaluate comprehensive performance data
Cotton variety performance can vary significantly, so a careful look at specific varieties and individual field conditions is key. Environmental factors and management systems all play a role in your growers’ cotton crop outcomes.
Yet it’s important not to draw conclusions based on just one year of data. Instead, work with growers to evaluate multi-year and multi-location trial data. This will help you select varieties that have demonstrated stability across a range of conditions including seed variety, maturity, yield potential, fiber quality, storm resistance, disease resistance and tolerance, and others.4
Match varieties to field history and disease pressure
Your growers can put a big dent in reniform nematode pressure by selecting the best cotton seeds for the job. Nematode-resistant cotton cultivars can reduce reniform nematode soil population densities at harvest by up to 81% compared to susceptible cultivars.5
Before finalizing cotton variety selections, assess fields using soil assays to identify specific pathogens such as root-knot nematodes, Verticillium wilt and Fusarium wilt.6 Once your growers know what they’re working with, they can determine which fields can be safely planted and which might need a rotational crop or another management practice to help break a disease cycle.
Consider regional adaptations and soil types
Match your growers’ cotton varieties to their unique regional operating conditions. Early to medium-maturity varieties are often a good idea to reduce late-season risks in certain growing areas.
Encourage growers to plant multiple varieties to spread risk across different field conditions. It’s best to avoid planting entire farms with a single variety.
Experts are available to help you assist growers in making their cotton seed variety decisions. Reach out to your seed retailer, a nearby extension office agent or a seed company professional like your regional BASF representative.
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Endnotes
- Pieralisi, Brian K. “Cotton Variety Trials (2024 Crop Year).” Mississippi State University Extension, https://extension.msstate.edu/publications/cotton-variety-trials-2024-crop-year. Accessed 31 Aug. 2026.
- Pieralisi. “Cotton Variety Trials (2024 Crop Year).”
- Hand, Camp, et al. “2023 UGA On-Farm Cotton Variety Evaluation Program.” University of Georgia College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences Field Report,https://fieldreport.caes.uga.edu/publications/AP110-8/2023-uga-on-farm-cotton-variety-evaluation-program/. Accessed 31 Aug. 2026.
- Boman, Randy. “Choosing Which Cotton Varieties to Grow.” Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, Apr. 2017,https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/print-publications/pss/choosing-which-cotton-varieties-to-grow-pss-2119.pdf. Accessed 31 Aug. 2026.
- Watson, T. “Cotton Host Resistance as a Tool for Managing Rotylenchulus reniformis in Louisiana.” Journal of Nematology, vol. 56, no. 1, 2024,https://doi.org/10.2478/jofnem-2024-0014. Accessed 31 Aug. 2026.
- “Selecting the Field.” UC IPM Pest Management Guidelines: Cotton, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, May 2013, https://ipm.ucanr.edu/agriculture/cotton/selecting-the-field/#gsc.tab=0. Accessed 31 Aug. 2026.
