Tuesday, Monsanto spokesman Janice Person said the company expected, the U.S. cotton acreage in 2009 to 8,000,000 acres. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture report, the United States in 2009 a total area of cotton cultivation 9,470,000 acres. Cotton acreage in 2008 than the 12.5 percent reduction in 2007, representing a 38 percent reduction in 2006. Cotton prices have also dropped all the way. 2008 washed up on 97 cents / lb after, ICE Futures Exchange in March U.S. cotton cents Tuesday to close at 46.39. The spokesman said the decline in cotton prices, farmers do not want to expand the planting area, therefore, increase the yield is the only way to increase revenues. In order to improve the yield, the company in January 6 announced five new varieties of seeds, these new varieties have the potential to improve the yield, at the same time able to protect the cotton plant functions. New varieties of each are for the United States on the weather developed to allow the potential to maximize yields.

New varieties are expected to increase the yield of 5-15%. The U.S. Department of Agriculture report in 2008 in the per acre yield of 810 pounds. She said that these new cotton seed company’s long-term development goals as part of the company’s goal is from 2000 to 2030, the average yield of cotton from the 1.4 package, or 672 pounds / acres, up to 1344 pounds / acres. The new cotton seed also has two types of protective genes: Bollgard II and Roundup Ready Flex. Bollguard II is the second generation of BT cotton with Bacillus thuringiensis gene (Bacillius thuringiensis gene). BT allows poisoning of crop pests, including cotton aphids, cotton bollworm and pink bollworm. Roundup Ready gene in the spraying of herbicides, in order to provide protection of cotton plants.