The autumn edition of CRDC's magazine, Spotlight, focuses on the impacts that research, development and extension delivers for growers and the industry.

The newly released Investment.Innovation.Impact report outlines CRDC's investments and impact under the 2013-18 CRDC Strategic RD&E Plan. From this report we can see impressive benefit-cost ratios of research, the contribution of growers into R&D, and many other achievements accomplished by CRDC-led RD&E during this time.

Similarly, CottonInfo’s five-year review shows an industry full of people willing to make change based on sound R&D and a palatable extension delivery mechanisms. This review includes the percentages of growers planning to, or who have made changes toward, improved efficiency and sustainability through the uptake of current R&D, technology and advice from industry experts. These changes and attitudes are further highlighted and collated in the annual CRDC Grower Survey, Australian Grown Cotton Sustainability Report, Cotton Industry Water Productivity report and Crop Consultants Australia’s Cotton Market Audit and Cotton Consultants Survey, all of which are featured in this edition.

Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) is an increasingly important water storage and supply management strategy, alongside demand management, to secure reliable water supplies while replenishing stressed groundwater systems and protecting water quality. MAR can be defined as the purposeful recharge of water to aquifers for subsequent recovery or environmental benefit. In the 50 years from 1965 to 2015, global MAR capacity has grown from 1000 to 10 000 GL/year (Dillon et al 2019). There are many examples from around the world that demonstrate the advantages of MAR (Ross and Hasnain 2018).

The USA accounts for 26% of the reported global MAR capacity. Annual average MAR in the US has grown from at least 302 GL in 1961-70 to at least 2569 GL in 2011-2015 . California accounts for over 70% of reported US recharge capacity, Arizona accounts for 20% and other states, notably New York, Florida and Texas, make up the remainder. Most of the reported recharge capacity is in infiltration basins (Dillon 2018). Although the majority of the MAR schemes in the US have been set up to secure urban water supplies, there are examples of well-established MAR schemes dedicated to supplying water for agriculture and irrigation

This report reviews four selected agricultural MAR case studies from the US and one from Spain, analysing key factors contributing to the feasibility and sustainability of each MAR scheme. These schemes have been selected to represent different MAR scales and technologies. The five schemes are the Arizona water bank, Kern water bank California, Kings River California, Central Platte Natural Resources Management District and the El Caracillo scheme in Spain. A summary of these schemes is given in Table 1.

The first part of the report contains an overview of each case study and factors affecting project feasibility and sustainability. The second part of the report includes further details and analysis of each case study including:

• objectives and evolution;

• physical feasibility; sources of water and recharge arrangements;

• financial and economic feasibility;

• impacts on third parties and the environment; and

• governance, legislation and policies.

This document provides a brief outline of the projects CRDC invested in for 2018-19 (current as of May 2018).

This project supports the CRDC Workforce Capacity theme. 10 CRDC-sponsored Horizon Scholarship recipients to attend the 2016 Australian Cotton Conference on the Gold Coast (conference and dinner tickets). RIRDC covered all travel and accommodation costs with shared funding provided by CRDC.

Theme 1 - Workforce Capacity

This CRDC strategic theme area is generally progressing well towards the goal of a skilled, educated and progressive workforce and achieves this through investment in a number of industry scholarships and educational opportunities.

The critical focus over the next three years is to ensure that the challenges identified below in italics are addressed, and that research outcomes result in the desired impact. A quick review of the current state of these challenges is as follows:

• Clearly identifying the role of CRDC and the role of industry: is being addressed through the collaborative development between CRDC and Cotton Australia of the Industry Workforce Development strategy.

• Ensuring the implementation of the Workforce Development Strategy: and integrating cotton specific initiatives with broader rural and agricultural initiatives already in place.

• Measuring the impact of initiatives: and being able to track the long term benefit of initiatives (Scholarships, workshops, conference participation etc.)for the industry

• Ensuring research outcomes flow downstream to growers: and are available through a variety of channels to meet grower information needs.

The importance of black root rot in cotton has increased to the point that it can determine if a field could be planted or not with the crop. There had been some attempts to use a predictive method to relate the levels of the fungus in the soil with the severity of the disease. However, certain correlations between soil types, history of the diseases in the paddock and quantification of the pathogen need to be tested in Australian soils. “Traditional” testing methods such as ELISA and colony enumeration methods had shown certain correlation with the disease incidence. New methods such as qPCR had also shown promising results. A mix of different testing techniques can have the possibility of yielding a method that can serve as a predictive tool without being expensive or impractical. After a comprehensive worldwide literature review, the most practical method in terms of value-for-money, practicability and availability would be set up under laboratory conditions to test the correlation between propagules of black root rot in the soil and history of disease development in the plant.

An increase in disease incidence is commonly seen hand-in-hand with increased productivity in all agricultural sectors over time. An increased incidence of one such disease, black root rot (Thielaviopsis basicola) of cotton, is a high risk to the returns of a number of cotton growers. A simple way to ameliorate the impact of this disease would be the implementation of a practical diagnostic test that would help agronomists and cotton producers to better manage black root rot to minimise investment risk. However, such a tool is not commercially available yet.

Microbiology Laboratories Australia can help solve this problem. We are experts in developing new diagnostic tests for soil microbiology, and providing them as a commercial service to meet the specific needs of individual industry sectors and end users. The development of a test that predicted the potential for black root rot in cotton crops would provide important new information to cotton growers and agronomists to help minimise the losses caused by black root rot. The proposed work will be conducted in two stages:

1. Comprehensive survey of worldwide scientific literature related to detection and quantification of black root rot of cotton (Thielaviopsis basicola).

2. Develop a quantitative method with predictive potential based on worldwide best practice up to trial test stage.

The Australian Cotton Comparative Analysis provides the industry benchmark for the economics of cotton growing in Australia. The report focuses on the economics of the 2017 crop from growers across the different cotton-growing valleys. It also presents trends that have been measured against more than ten years of data, and, for the second year, includes per bale figures.

The Cotton Comparative Analysis is a joint initiative of CRDC and Boyce Chartered Accountants.

This travel scholarship funded the 10th Australasian Soilborne Disease Symposium. The aim of the symposium was to hold a forum and an interactive environment where national and international experts provide new insights in disease control for researchers, students and agricultural industry representatives including cotton and broad acre crops. The theme of the symposium was 'Paddock to Plates' with an emphasis on delivering the new knowledge to practitioners and at the same time to better harness the new scientific tools for the development of effective management options.

Boron and Potassium have overlapping roles to play in plant physiology and hence are synergistic. Like Potassium, Boron is also involved in some aspect of flowering and fruiting processes, pollen germination, cell division, nitrogen metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, active salt absorption, hormone movement and action, water metabolism and the water relations in plants.

The presence of high levels of sodium in the soil (which is common in most cotton growing areas) is determinantal to the growth of any crop. This is due to reverse osmosis created due to high negative water potential around the rhizosphere. This leads to desiccation of plants and improper or highly reduced mineral and water uptake due to the impact on the roots. This will have its adverse effect on the total photosynthetic potential of the plants causing yield and quality decline.

This trial has been conducted in collaboration with the CRDC and leading cotton grower, Vitonga Pty Ltd in identifying why some paddocks are producing 16 bales/Ha of cotton and on the same farm, other paddocks drop off to 11-12 bales/Ha under the same management practices.

In soil analysis, the paddocks producing 16 bale crops consistently, the Potassium:Sodium ratio is believed to be a critical factor impacting the yield. In those high yielding paddocks, the ratio in meq/100g soil for the Potassium:Sodium ratio was 2:1, while in field 7 where the trial was conducted, the ratio was 1.05:1 (ideal would be 1.4:1). In addition, soil analysis found that the Calcium:Boron ratio at in field 7 was 4038:1. This Calcium:Boron ratio indicates a significant Boron deficiency exists in the soil.

This project funded a farm based replicated trial on an irrigated cotton property north of Moree with three main aims. Firstly, the research sought to establish the effect of high Potassium application during cropping on yield caused by high Sodium levels to Potassium levels and early senescence of cotton growth.

Secondly, to look at impacts of increased enzyme urease activity in the soil at planting to stimulate soil health and counteract nematode effect on plant growth to encourage better Nitrogen efficiency.

The third research aim examined the effect of Boron application (slow release before plant) with high Potassium application and the effect on yield when soil health is increased measuring Nitrogen efficiency and yields.

The project outputs included;

*Yield Improvement by measuring Yield

*Quality Improvement by Lint Quality

*Soil Health Sustainability- OmniBio Assessment as composite samples of individual treatments.

*Soil Nutrition Sustainability- Better Potash Levels and managing High Sodium effect of Increase Osmotic Pressure in the plant-sap.

*Plant Physiology Improvements- evaluate the effect of Stress Reducing Foliar on the 5 Soil applied Treatments.

The Beltwide Cotton Conferences are held every year, in early January. The conferences attract producers, industry personnel (marketers, ginners, etc.) research, extension and agribusiness participants from around the cotton growing areas of the United States of America (US) cotton belt.