Development Tour for Northern Australia
Abstract
Cotton has been looked to be a commercial crop in the Northern Territory on several occasions over the last 100 years, firstly as a wet season crop and more recently (in the last 25 years) as a dry season (winter) crop. The recent success of a hybrid model of crops planted in the wet and finished in the dry at Kununurra and the developments in the Georgetown region of Queensland has reignited interest in growing cotton in the Northern Territory.
A few commercial crops have been planted as well as demonstration crops at Katherine Research Station. The main issue in the Northern Territory is a complete lack of understanding of the cotton production system and to an extent, limited exposure good agricultural practices associated with broadacre farming as there has been limited development of a cropping industry in the Northern Territory.The Projects objectives were to introduce new and potential cotton growers to the best practise methods for cotton from the Southern Queensland and Northern NSW growing regions. With a focus on both dryland and irrigation, with an emphasis on the most suited irrigation methods for the Northern soil and climatic conditions.
Other important factors to be investigated will include crop management, surface water development and the development of a cropping system that has cotton as a cornerstone crop.
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- 2019 Final Reports
CRDC Final Reports submitted 2019