Monsanto's Bollgard® trait revolutionized insect control in cotton, which helps protect the crop from insects that can be detrimental for cotton farmers’ crops. For farmers in the South, pests are nothing new.

Today, cotton growers are benefiting from second-generation and stacked trait technologies, which provide more levels of protection. Genuity® Bollgard II® with Roundup Ready® Flex represents Monsanto's newest wave of innovation with two second-generation traits stacked into one seed. Let’s dig a little deeper into each of these traits and explain what exactly each traits do.

There are three Genuity cotton traits currently available to cotton growers across the U.S.:

Genuity® Bollgard II® Cotton: Provides worm-control. When farmers buy cotton seed with this trait, they are able to reduce or even eliminate the need to spray for damaging worms.

Genuity® Roundup Ready® Flex Cotton: Allows growers to have a wider window for over-the-top applications of Roundup® agricultural herbicides. Cotton is a touchy crop and requires herbicide applications to be made in a timely manner. This trait offers what it says in its name – flexibility.

Genuity® Bollgard II® with Roundup Ready® Flex Cotton: Both traits are packaged into the cotton seed to provide growers with convenience and maximum flexibility to manage their spray schedule, as well as worm control.

Cotton is the most important textile fiber in the world, accounting for more than 40 percent of total fiber production. Why is cotton so important? Well, it's use in much more products than one might think. Take a look below to see how many different products only one bale of cotton makes.