CottonVaRx: A cotton variety recommender dashboard use case from Georgia, USA

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is a critical crop for Georgia's agricultural economy, with variety selection being a critical decision for farmers due to its impact on yield and fiber quality. To support this process, we developed an interactive variety recommender tool using data from the University of Georgia (UGA) On-Farm Cotton Variety Evaluation Program, which includes 117 trials conducted across 35 sites over five years (2020-2024) under both irrigated and dryland conditions. This application note presents a methodological framework for variety recommendations, which integrates advanced analytical tools to evaluate and compare genotype performance across diverse environments. The dashboard enables users to interactively explore the dataset through a range of visualizations, including county-specific information, variety recommender, trait comparisons, state-level performance, and environmental ranking. A built-in variety recommender tool ranks top-performing genotypes based on mean relative performance. Additionally, the dashboard provides detailed trial management information to support comprehensive decision-making. By allowing comparisons across yield, ginning turnout, loan value and fiber quality metrics, the platform assists farmers, county agents, and consultants in optimizing variety selection in Georgia. While the results reflect past performance and must be interpreted in the context of local agronomic and technological factors, the tool effectively translates complex multi-environment trial data into actionable insights. Finally, it aims to enhance both productivity and sustainability in cotton production across Georgia, U.S. through informed, data-driven decision-making.