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The 2009 Cotton Breeders’ Tour was held the week of July 26th in central and south Texas. Participants came from across the private and public sectors in the United States along with researchers from Australia, Brazil, China, Columbia, India, and Brazil. A session was held in College Station to discuss molecular marker characterization of germplasm in the collection, hear about three databases currently in use in the cotton community, and to discuss the regional project S1036. An afternoon was spent at the Norman Borlaug Center to hear about cotton sequencing efforts and to learn about current Cotton Incorporated sponsored projects involving seed gossypol reduction. Visits also occurred to observe USDA breeding efforts of pecan trees near College Station and citrus trees in Weslaco. The group visited Texas AgriLife Extension and Research Centers in College Station, Corpus Christi, and Harlingen to observe cotton research at those locations. Participants also observed Monsanto, Bayer CropScience, and Dow/Phytogen research and agronomic plots along the route.
The 2007 Cotton Breeders’ Tour was held the week of September 17th. Participants came from across the private and public sectors in the United States, along with researchers from China, Columbia, India, and Brazil. The group observed research regarding cotton breeding for heat tolerance in Arizona and fiber quality and water efficiency in California. Stops were also made to observe large scale production of almonds, tomatoes, guayule, and pistachios. The group visited the Shafter and Westside, California Research Stations to learn of cotton research conducted at those sites too.
The 2005 Breeders’ Tour was held in the Southeast US September 11 -16. A tour of the Cotton Incorporated World Headquarters in Cary was held and then the group saw NCSU breeding efforts, USDA cotton genetics research near Florence, South Carolina, and University of Georgia [UGA] efforts in Tifton. Bayer CropScience’s Cotton Breeding Program and Monsanto’s Cotton Breeding team showcased their respective efforts in South Carolina. The group also observed the Lummus Corporation Manufacturing Plant near Savannah and the Chickasha Oil Meal Plant near Tifton. We also heard speakers talk about a host of topics including peanut breeding, turf grass breeding, and variable rate irrigation research at UGA.
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