The relationship between commercial cotton cultivars with varying Meloidogyne incognita resistance genes and yield

Small plot cotton cultivar trials (12 trials) were conducted from 2016 to 2019 in fields infested with Meloidogyne incognita. Entries in these trials included commercial cultivars with partial and high resistance to M. incognita, as well as cultivars with no known resistance. Different resistant groups were created based on different cotton seed companies and their descriptions of the M. incognita resistant cultivars. Groups were none (susceptible); partial resistance found in Stoneville or Fibermax cultivars (PR-FM/ST); partial resistance found in PhytoGen cultivars (PR-PHY); resistance (unknown gene(s)) in Deltapine cultivars (NR-DP); and highly resistant cultivars homozygous for RK1 and RK2 resistant genes in PhytoGen cultivars (HR-PHY). The highest lint yields using a mixed model analysis were found in the PR-FM/ST (1,396 kg lint/ha), HR-PHY (1,327 kg lint/ha), and PR-PHY (1,314 kg lint/ha) groups. Yield for NR-DP (1,234 kg lint/ha) was not different (p > 0.05) than yield for susceptible cultivars (1,243 kg lint/ha). If the older resistant cultivars from Deltapine and PhytoGen (those with only Roundup Ready® herbicide technology) were removed from the analysis, then HR-PHY yields increased by 133 kg of lint/ha to 1,460 kg lint/ha and NR-DP yields remained approximately unchanged (1,227 kg lint/ha). Newer HR-PHY had much improved yield over the first HR-PHY cultivars. Newer HR-PHY averaged 17% higher yield than the susceptible group. LOG₁₀ (M. incognita eggs/500 cm³ soil + 1) were highest for the susceptible cultivars (3.2), followed by PR-FM/ST (2.6), NR-DP (2.4), PR-PHY (2.1), and lowest with HR-PHY (1.4). The newer HR-PHY cultivars (those with ENLIST® herbicide technology) combine excellent yields (17% higher than susceptible cultivars) with high (96%) suppression of M. incognita.