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2026 Season | Macquarie | Trial No. 2026074
Sicot 743B3XF & Sicot 761B3XF Try Before You Buy
‘Strathern’, Warren NSW
Key takeaway
Sicot 743B3XF delivered yield in a higher water use season. The field posed irrigation challenges, particularly under the area planted to Sicot 761B3XF.
System
Irrigated
Solid 1m
Rainfall
121mm
10 irrigations
Top yield
14.19 b/ha
Sicot 743B3XF
Trial snapshot
| Trial No. | 2026074 |
| Planting date | 13 October 2025 |
| Picking date | 15 April 2026 |
| Varieties | Sicot 743B3XF & Sicot 761B3XF |
Season & field summary
The crop came out of the ground well with good early vigour and very little thrip damage. The season had little effective rainfall, calling for ten irrigations and more water than normal. A hot spell caused some fruit loss, and the Sicot 761B3XF seemed drop more fruit. A good finish was experienced into defoliation and picking.
Picker data imagery for the Sicot 761B3XF area.
We put in 6ha of Sicot 761B3XF in against some Sicot 743B3XF, which we grew elsewhere on the farm. It all came out of the ground really well, we did plant 18 seeds/ m and most of them came up, so both varieties had plenty of plants. We had little insect pressure and good retention right up until late January. This season was a dry one, and it saw us use more water than normal across ten irrigations. We did see some boll loss during this period, but not too bad.
There were issues with infiltration on the trial end of the field and, compared to rest of the field, the crop ended up being quite compact. Outcome was the Sicot 743B3XF did better, we did have another field that was prone to going a bit rank and in hindsight I should have put the Sicot 761B3XF in that field to see how it did.
Trial results
TBYB yield results from ‘Strathern’, Warren NSW. Results are from commercial ginning and CSD 25 saw classing.
Yield & fibre quality comparison
| Variety | Yield | Staple length (imp) | Strength (g/tex) | Micronaire | Lint turnout (%) |
| Sicot 743B3XF | 14.19 | 1.18 | 32.5 | 5 | 45.8 |
| Sicot 761B3XF | 12.21 | 1.25 | 33.9 | 4.4 | 45.6 |
Agronomy insights
This trial did not experience the thrips pressure or damage observed elsewhere, getting both crops off to a great start. Lack of in season rain placed an emphasis on irrigation and there were challenges in the field where the trial was planted. The hot snap late January did see some fruit loss, but soil moisture was available during this period, however there was high number of days over 45 degrees celcius and that impacted plenty potential.
Fit & management considerations
Sicot 743B3XF seems to capitalise on the conditions in the Macquarie. Although field conditions might have limited the yield of the Sicot 761B3XF, the outcome is similar to other trials in the region.
It will be interesting to see if the commercially ginned fibre also has higher micronaire and if the length is affected, given the increase in turn out from commercial ginning.
As always, use this case study alongside broader regional data in making variety changes.
