Southeast Cotton Growers Share Excitement for New Delta Pine Varieties
During the recent Deltapine New Product Evaluator (NPE) Summit held in Florida, growers from across the Southeast had the opportunity to learn more about the newest cotton varieties being released for the 2026 growing season. The event brought together producers, agronomists, and industry leaders to evaluate performance data and discuss what these new genetics could mean for cotton operations across the region.
We caught up with several growers to hear directly what they are most looking forward to as these new Delta Pine varieties move closer to commercial availability.
Nick McMichen, a cotton grower in Alabama and Georgia, emphasized the importance of both yield and fiber quality when selecting varieties.
“You know, I’m looking for advances in the fiber package and quality and increased yields as well. And, you know, they’re talking about advances like in years past with 1646 and 2127, which have been our mainstays over the years of this program. And they’re talking about another sizable leap, both of those varieties, you know, kind of put us to the next plateau, so to speak. And so, we’re really looking forward to the 26th growing season and seeing how those will work for us.”
McMichen’s comments reflect a broader theme heard throughout the summit: growers are eager for proven performance gains that build on trusted Delta Pine genetics while pushing productivity to the next level.
Florida cotton grower Nick Marshall highlighted another critical factor—consistency across seasons.
“It’s easy to say the yield, you know, because they did great, but I mean, it seems like the stability of these products are all, you know, you plant it this year and next year is just as good. You don’t have just an up and down year with them.
They’re all pretty stable on their yields and quality and growing characteristics. You know, everything’s stopped from one year to the next, jumping around, anything different. It’s all stable.”
Marshall also pointed to strong on-farm results from varieties already evaluated through the NPE program.
“You know, we’re 100% Delta Pine, like some of these other guys, and all the varieties are doing really well. We got two of these NPEs released for 26, both of them did extremely well. We’re, you know, looking forward to them another year also.”
As the 2026 growing season approaches, Southeast cotton producers say they are optimistic that the latest Delta Pine releases will deliver meaningful gains in yield stability, fiber quality, and overall performance in the field.
Audio Reporting by Dale Sandlin for Southeast AgNet.