Fibre quality management includes on-farm and post-farm gate practices. Variety

selection, irrigation management, crop nutrition management, disease management, pest

management, climatic and weather conditions, harvesting, transport and ginning practices

can all affect fibre quality. Management practices and environmental conditions up to the

point of harvest determine whether the valuable attributes of the selected variety are

realised. Practices from harvest onwards determine whether these fibre qualities are maintained.

The overall quality of the Australian cotton crop is high and continually improving.

While each year's crop generally has one or two quality aspects that would idealIy be better, Australia has a well-deserved reputation for producing and delivering a consistent, high quality product well suited to the needs of spinners. Thus there is no over-riding quality concern that cries out for immediate attention, or which a failure to address would cause immediate marketing problems. Nonetheless, a co-ordinated, formal approach to fibre quality management will help ensure that at a minimum, Australian cotton will continue to occupy its current market position.

It is recommended that the Australian cotton industry undertake to address quality management issues in a coordinated way, through a formal industry program.