The 13th Australasian Plant Breeding Conference was held in Christchurch NZ, April 18-21. This

is the primary conference relating to plant breeding activities in Australia and New Zealand and

had six core themes: benefits from plant improvement, added value products, population

improvement, plant gene technologies, genetic resources and environmental challenges. I

presented a paper outlining the impact of transgenic cotton on the Australian cotton industry and

the lessons learnt for plant breeders (copy attached).

Of major importance to my research in this area is to remain up-to-date in all areas relating to

plant improvement and specifically in the areas of plant gene technologies and population

improvement. Other specific topics of interest discussed were: economic assessment of plant

breeding benefits; market focus; and influence of market size and recruitment and retention of

plant breeders.

Immediately following the conference was a three day Plant Breeding Master Class run by Prof

Duane Falk from the University of Guelph, Canada and Prof Wallace Cowling from the

University of Western Australia. The objective of the Master Class was to challenge participants’

understanding of the value of application of quantitative genetic principles to plant improvement,

and to discuss the role of current, breeder-driven technologies to achieve improved outcomes.

The idea was to challenge the way things are currently done, with the aim to have participants

step back and re-evaluate their procedures and efficiency.

Conclusions and benefits

Overall, the Plant Breeding Conference was well organised and well run. There was a good mix

of presentations detailing a range of crops and techniques, however, as with many conferences in

recent years, molecular presentations dominated more than they should. The conference provided

an opportunity for interaction with a very diverse group of breeders. It was particularly

interesting and beneficial to compare notes with the NZ breeders regarding the organisational and

funding structure of breeding in NZ. The quasi-commercial model using state owned entities

really seems to work for their situation. I also gained some valuable insights from the case

studies on fruit breeding that were presented and I think some aspects could be more broadly

applied in Australia. Some of the statistical analyses examining the success of various breeding

programs were interesting and as a benchmark the CSIRO breeding program appears to be doing

very well. Several of these programs also specified very ambitious targets, similar to what we

have proposed for our program in doubling the rate of yield increase.

Participation in the three day Plant Breeding Master Class was an excellent experience. It reintroduced

some of the basic plant breeding concepts and simplified what breeders are trying to

achieve. It also introduced some advanced concepts and techniques in population plant breeding,

with practical examples of how they can be applied. It did allow me to step back and assess the

way that we currently do things. My observation is that the techniques and procedures that we

are currently using compare very well to the best examples that were presented. However, there

are some areas where I will be evaluating some new procedures and these are detailed below in

the presentation of my case study.

The world of natural resource management is extremely dynamic, and is underpinned by the knowledge of farmers, resource managers and local communities, as well as that of scientists and research organisations. The most practical, innovative ideas are grounded in intimate knowledge, understanding and experience. The multiple aims of maintaining a profitable agricultural business while managing and protecting the resource base can be combined. As the price of water and energy goes up, farming systems that close the loop will become more and more competitive, domestically and globally. Win-wins do happen, BUT we should never be under any delusion that they are inevitable, commonplace or even always possible.

Compression athletic wear is usually made from synthetic fibres, often by coating an elastomer band on the fabric surface. There are currently no methods of creating compression athletic wear containing predominantly cotton. This project used an innovative approach to develop fabrics suitable for compression garments from Australian Long Staple cotton to favourably compete with currently available synthetic compression athletic wear. Through this project the comfort advantage of the developed fabric over the existing synthetic products was demonstrated. This research led to developing a fabric with improved breathability and heat and moisture transfer for people who prefer to get the ultimate benefits of cotton in their garments for sports and outdoor activities in all climates. This project will open up a new opportunity to develop an innovative

manufacturing technology and new market for Australian cotton, which could be used in otherapplication outside of active wear, such as medical textiles.

The purpose of this travel scholarship was to enable tone researcher to participate in and present results of Australian whitefly research at the 3rd International Whitefly Symposium in 2018, held in Perth. This meeting presented an unique opportunity for Australian researchers to attend an international gathering of prominent whitefly researchers from all over the world on home ground. The primary objectives of involvement were firstly, to enable professional relationships to be developed with researchers from the United States, Asia-Pacific countries, as well as Africa, where whitefly is a problem in field crops such as cotton. Secondly, to scope out the latest approaches to whitefly control in cotton and gauge applicability and transfer potential of such technologies to Australian cotton production systems. Finally, to enhance knowledge, professional development and potential for future collaborative work.

The Cotton Research and Development Corporation (CRDC) Strategic Plan 2018-2023 Goal 3 calls for building the adaptive capacity of the Australian cotton industry to enable the industry to achieve its future vision. It is noted that in addition, CRDC will provide our industry stakeholders with opportunities to develop and advance innovation skills. CRDC RD&E investments will prepare Australian cotton growers for our changing environment and provide them with the skills to adapt to those changes.

In 2015/16, it was recognised that significant technological advances were unfolding in an expanding Australian Cotton industry. Likewise, previous research had identified a nexus between an available skilled, capable, competent and professional workforce to meet these emerging needs. Thus, the rationale for this project was based on the premise that a skilled and capable workforce is known to contribute to the industry's profitability, sustainability and competitiveness.

However, the extent of availability of such a workforce to the range of cotton growers (from small to more corporate enterprises) as well as to the support sector (in particular the agribusiness advisory sector) and its capacity for, and methods of, professional development were largely unknown. Equally, ways of measuring the return on investment (ROI) and impact of undertaking forms of training, education, skill development and professional development were somewhat rudimentary.

Through the CRDC Managed People Program (also representing Cotton Australia or CA), there was a demonstrated need to understand more about how skill development and professional development was undertaken. Similarly, ways of measuring impact and value for money of these initiatives, to provide objective measures of success (on-farm, in businesses and for research work) was also required. As result, a Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting (MER) process was developed to measure the impact sought.

The most important message from the symposium was about complex and dynamic interactions. Interactions between host, pathogen and environment are what determine the economic impact of disease. In this report I try to highlight some key messages in these areas.

This document provides a brief outline of the projects CRDC has invested in for 2020-21 (current as of May 2020).

The Australian Cotton Research Conference is a biennial Research Conference run by the Association of Australian Cotton Scientists (AACS) hosted each time by a different Research Organisation and administered by an Organising Committee. This was the third Conference and was hosted by CSIRO in Canberra at the CSIRO Discovery Centre. The Committee for the 2017 event was Danny Llewellyn, Chair (CSIRO, Canberra); Paul Grundy (QDAF); Warren Conaty (CSIRO, Narrabri); Ruth Redfern (CRDC); Mark Peoples (CSIRO, Canberra);Iain Wilson (CSIRO, Canberra); Filomena Pettolino (CSIRO, Canberra); Colleen MacMillan (CSIRO, Canberra); Philippe Moncuquet (CSIRO, Canberra);Lisa Ermanli, Admin Support (CSIRO, Canberra). The objectives of the biennial Australian Cotton Research Conferences are to serve as a platform for cotton researchers to present and discuss concepts, key issues and the latest findings in research relevant to the Australian cotton industry, and cotton research community. The conference also encourages networking and collaborations, and a better understanding of the scope of science performed across the breadth of the cotton industry. The three day conference included plenary lectures from renowned speakers (including one international invited speaker, Dr Juan Landivar Bowles, Texas A&M, USA), and research talks within a range of themes, as well as tours of the High Performance Plant Phenomics Centre at CSIRO. There was a welcome reception on the first evening at the CSIRO Discovery Centre and a conference dinner on the second night at the National Museum of Australia, where a number of Association Awards were presented (including the Association’s Early Career Scientist Encouragement Award that was presented to Dr Guna Nachimuthu (NSW DPI) in acknowledgement of his contributions to soil science, the Service to Cotton Science Award to Dr Lewis Wilson (CSIRO) for his contributions to cotton IPM research and the Scientific Publication Award to Drs Grant Herron (NSW DPI) and Lewis Wilson for their recent publication on resistance management strategies to recover insecticide susceptibility in the cotton aphid in Australian cotton. Nilantha Hulugalle, Ian Rochester (posthumously), Jim Peacock, Geoff Baker, and Stephen Allen were elected Lifetime Members of the Association in recognition of their distinguished careers in supporting Cotton Science in Australia). The Annual General Meeting of the Association was held on the final day at which a new Executive committee was elected, including Paul Grundy as the new President. Cleave Rogan (Deputy Chair, CRDC) closed off the conference noting the high international standard of the research being undertaken in Australia and the obvious renewal happening in the research space as many of our older industry stalwarts move on and new blood is attracted to the industry to fill their places, ensuring that the research base of the industry is in safe hands for the future. Details of the conference, invited speakers and abstracts are available at the AACS website. The conference was well attended and all sessions were actively participated in. All delegates that elected to give a talk were accommodated in one of the many sessions. About half the delegates went on the tour of the HPPC. This was the first time that we have used a Conference App for tablets and smart phones instead of a printed Conference booklet and this was well received by the conference delegates. There were also no physical posters displayed but the eight posters received were available through the App and on the conference website for download and were displayed on the large screen during some of the breaks. The conference was well attended and achieved its goals of fostering exchange of information and establishing and reinforcing collaborations between researchers within and across the industry. The next conference will be held in 2019 at the University of New England, Armidale.

This project seeks to create a forum which brings together all levels of the cotton industry in the Macquarie Valley and from across all geographical areas of the valley, giving a platform for an exchange of information and support and the opportunity to connect with and create new partnerships. Funding from CRDC asssits to keep the event operating at a level that makes it prestigious and valued by our members, with 165 attendees at the annual Awards dinner.

The Macquarie Valley CGA committee feels it is important for the cohesiveness of our cotton grower community to gather as many growers together as possible for this event. The energy created by the interactions on the night creates a very positive outlook for the coming season.

The grassroots funding objective for this project was to support growers in identifying pathways to incorporate summer crops as a means of improving farming system efficiencies. This research involved a comparison of dryland cotton to dryland sorghum on various row crop configurations on a property at Mungingdi.