Productivity of the Australian cotton industry is constantly threatened by reduced availability of irrigation water in eastern Australia. Consequently there has been considerable interest from cotton growers, with the possibility of re-establishing cotton in the Ord River and other areas of NW Australia, where extensive supplies of water (> 20% of Australia's annual surface water runoff) and land are available. The development of a cotton industry in NW Australia would complement production in eastern Australia, providing reliability of supply to maintain valuable markets for high quality cotton lint. In the next 4 - 5 years about 50,000 ha of irrigation land is to be released in stage 2 of the Ord. A further 20-30,000 ha of irrigation land has recently been identified in the Katheririe-Daly basin of the NT. There is also some 60- 70,000 ha of potentially itrrigable black soil on the Bains-Angallari rivers 150 km E of Kununurra and considerable areas on the Fitzroy River to the west.

Research during the 3 seasons previous to this project produced promising results: small plot yields were similar to eastern Australia; pest numbers were lower in the dry (winter) season and Ingard cotton was effective on relevant Lepidoptera pests. The installation of a 'research gin', at a cost of $800,000 by Colly Farms in partnership with the Ord River District Co-operative in 1997 has facilitated the expansion of integrated pest management studies (IPM) to commercial scale areas on-farm (250ha to 900 ha during 1997 to 2001). 'Best bet' agronomic practices, were tested in these on-farm IPM areas. This helped to fine~tune practices, but most importantly the on-farm research identified knowledge gaps and areas of further research. For example, a greater understanding of the water usage and ripening processes in this climate is required. Other important knowledge gaps included:the need to understand compensatory growth mechanisms in response to mirid damage; the need for varieties that produce a longer fibre when grown in the dry season; and nutritional requirements. This project aimed to address these and other questions as part of a broader objective to assess the feasibility of sustainable cotton production in NW Australia.