This forum is recognised as the main conference for cotton research. The conference consists

of four days of individual reports, panel discussions, hands-on workshops and seminars about

the latest research developments and their practical applications in cotton production and

processing. The conference fosters dialogue among cotton producers, processors, scientists,

extension personnel and agribusiness representatives.

I have never attended a Beltwide cotton conference and would relish the opportunity to attend

and present at a cotton focussed research conference to be brought up to date on

developments on cotton physiology and agronomy (especially in the areas of fibre quality).

In addition I would also like to identify new opportunities for cotton decision support

development. Despite having been on a sabbatical to the USA recently I have not attended a

cotton research conference since August 2002 (not presented at one since 2000). In fact I

have not attended or presented at a research conference of any type since early 2003.

During my sabbatical in Texas last year I also started a number of potential joint initiatives

with Texas A&M. Attending this conference in San Antonio and travelling to College station

(only 2hrs away) means that I can aim to build on these initiatives with researchers from

Texas and start to facilitate some new ones that were discussed. One especially is the joint

supervision of Nicola Cottee (CRDC funded Sydney University Student) with Dr Tom

Cothren (located College station). The project was submitted and approved with the idea of

her conducting similar research on cotton physiology here and in Texas with Dr Cothren. I

would like to ensure that appropriate resources are in place for Nicola's stay in the USA (most

likely next year 2006).

Other initiatives that have been instigated and I would like to develop further are:

- Joint supervision of PhD student in Texas on the development of DSS tools for

- Planning a potential visit by up to four Texas extension specialists (hosted by the

cotton industry)

- Planning a sabbatical for Dr Giovanni Piccinni to work with James Neilson and

others on cotton water relations

- Planning a sabbatical for Dr Dan Munk to work with Dirk Richards on irrigation

decision support and information dissemination.

- Developing linkages with Texas A&M's cropping systems initiative as part of the

new Cotton CRC. There are opportunities to host exchanges for scientists and extension

personnel.

Quarantine plays a critical role to ensure that Australia remains free from serious pests, weeds and diseases present in other parts of the world. Australia places great importance on quarantine and has among the strongest quarantine measures of any country in the world. Cotton is treated to ensure that consignments are free from live insects, soil and other debris. Depending on the samples the quarantine treatments used can be chemical (fumigation) by either methyl bromide or ethylene oxide or by gamma irradiation at either 50kGray or 25kGray (kGy).

Experience from within the industry suggests that these treatments affect the quality of the cotton, although there is little direct scientific information available on the magnitude of the damage to the cotton. Thus, in order to determine the affect of the various quarantine treatments on the physical properties of cotton lint standard Upland cotton, Long Staple Upland cotton and Extra Long Staple cotton was treated with the various quarantine treatments.

The fumigation treatments by either ethylene oxide or methyl bromide had little or no significant effect on the physical properties of the cotton fibre. However gamma irradiation did have an effect on the physical properties of the fibre.The fumigation treatments by either ethylene oxide or methyl bromide had little or no significant effect on the physical properties of the cotton fibre. However gamma irradiation did have an effect on the physical properties of the fibre.

The results clearly indicate that the physical fibre properties of the cotton such as; strength, elongation, length uniformity, short fibre and to a lesser extent colour is affected by gamma irradiation. The study has shown that gamma irradiation affects normal Upland, Long Staple Upland as well as Extra Long Staple cotton. In the case of the Upland and Long Staple Upland cotton the strength of the fibre reduced by between 3cN/tex and 9 cN/tex, depending on the dosage. This decrease in fibre strength corresponded with a gradual decrease in fibre elongation by 1.0 to 2.0%. The Extra Long Staple cotton was dramatically affected by gamma irradiation. The strength reduced by between 5 cN/tex and 18 cN/tex. This decrease in fibre strength also corresponded with a 2% decrease in fibre elongation.

Analysis by various microscopy methodsrevealed no noticeable surface damage. However chemical analysis revealed that the molecular weight of the cotton decreases at even the lower dosages and continues to decrease as dosages with gamma irradiation increased. These results suggest that a low irradiation dose provokes the breakage of cellulose chains at the most sensitive points, which probably represents domains of lower crystallinity in the structures. Higher doses then further decrease the size of cellulose chains from the more crystalline domains of the fibers. The decrease in molecular size is most likely responsible for the observed alteration of the mechanical properties of the cotton fibers upon irradiation.

The message from this preliminary investigation is quite clear, if any cotton material needs to be imported into Australia; one must insist on chemical (fumigation) by either ethylene oxide or methyl bromide as gamma irradiation, even at low dosages, severely damages the physical properties of cotton.

is a limiting factor for cotton production in Australia. As a soil-borne fungal pathogen, epidemiological, ecological and genetic features of Fov populations are strongly influenced by soil conditions. This includes key fungal life-history traits crucial to managing the disease such as and aggressiveness. The objectives of this project were to provide a better understanding of how Fov copes with different soils in the perspective of aggressiveness, saprophytic ability and evolution.

Soil samples were collected from Moree, Boggabilla, and the Darling Downs regions and disease incidence, Fov density, and soil abiotic conditions were tested. Results showed that Fov density varied among fields and disease incidence was not significantly correlated to Fov density (P=0.1281). However, correlation and stepwise regression analyses found significant relationships between disease incidence and soil conditions like calcium/magnesium (Ca/Mg) ratio, sodium, chloride, and electric conductivity, among which only soil Ca/Mg ratio showed a negative relationship. This observation was confirmed by further studies in soils inoculated with the same level of Fov inoculum, suggesting that lifting soil Ca/Mg ratio could be used as an alternative disease control measure provided the efficacy is verified under field conditions in future studies.

Studies of 17 representative Fov isolates clarified that fast-growing Fov isolates are more aggressive than slow-growing ones and aggressive isolates usually produce few spores than less aggressive ones, suggesting trade-off between spore producing ability and aggressiveness in Fov. Consistently, the trade-off was also detected in the soil when the same Fov population was associated with cotton and wheat, respectively. Compared with cotton soils, Fov density was significantly greater in wheat soils due to enhanced saprophytic ability as a result of the absence of cotton. Furthermore, a significant impact of the interaction between Fov and soil origins on the trade-off was also noticed.

Difference in Fov recovery frequency on diseased plants grown in different soils suggests a strong soil impact on Fov evolution. When the recovery frequencies of a from different soils are compared, it is usually higher in the soil from which it derives than in those so-called alien soils. This suggests that Fov can evolve to become soil- or region-specific due to local adaptation and this should be taken into consideration when a suitable cotton cultivar is chosen for different soils.

Silverleaf whitefly (SLW), Bemisia tabaci B biotype (Gennadius), is a major insect pest of cotton and horticultural industries. In cotton it is a pest because it produces sugary exudates (honeydew) that contaminate cotton lint and cause problems during textile processing. Honeydew contaminated lint may receive price penalties or in extreme cases may be rejected from sale.

Insecticides are an important SLW management tool, but SLW has the propensity to rapidly develop resistance to many insecticide groups including synthetic pyrethroids, organophosphates and carbamates. Pyriproxyfen (Admiral®) is currently considered the most important insecticide for SLW management because it has excellent efficacy against high density infestations. Overseas, resistance to Admiral® has been reported for SLW.

Resistance monitoring for Admiral® between 2007 and 2010 indicated there was no evidence of resistance to pyriproxyfen developing in cotton dominated regions. Resistance factors in cotton dominant regions were generally not significantly different to the susceptible strain. In 2007-08 elevated resistance factors were recorded for Silverleaf whitefly collected in cotton against pyriproxyfen in St George and the Burdekin. In St George, subsequent sampling in more recent years indicated that resistance factors had returned to a susceptible level and there was no evidence of resistance developing.

In the mixed cropping zone of the Burdekin, no pyriproxyfen usage occured in cotton as part of an area wide resistance management strategy to give priority products to the dominant cropping industry. It is likely that the elevated resistance factors recorded in the Burdekin from cotton are due to close proximity between cotton and horticulture.

Elevated resistance factors were recorded for pyriproxyfen for silverleaf whitefly collected from Ayr and Gumlu, North QLD in 2008-09. Resistance factors 100 times higher then the susceptible strain were recorded for these two field collections. These elevated resistance factors are a warning to the cotton industry of the risk of resistance developing to pyriproxyfen. The cotton Insecticide Resistance Management Strategy of a maximum of one application of Admiral® per season is a valuable insecticide resistance management tool.

Elevated resistance factors were recorded for diafenthiuron and bifenthrin between 2007-10. The increased resistance factors indicate that resistant genes are present in the populations however at this stage there is no evidence that the resistance factors have increased over the three years of monitoring. Overseas, diafenthiuron is thought to be stable to resistance however it has not be used widely due to phytotoxicity issues. Bifenthrin is not recommended for use in cotton due to poor efficacy and high toxicity to beneficial insects.

Ginning is an energy intensive process. This project evaluates the energy usage inside the cotton gins in Australia. electricity use is found to range between 44-66 kWh per bale, with national average being 52.3 kWh. The electricity consumption for different gins is nearly linearly correlated with bale numbers produced. The electricity network charge is a significant cost in cotton ginning operations. Maximum demand occupies 48-67% of total kW required to run all the energy-consuming equipment. All gins monitored had an overall power factor of higher than 0.85.

Drying temperature generally increases as module moisture increases. It is also found that the regulated drying temperature for the cotton dryer has a strong relationship with the incoming module moisture. Gas usage is strongly influenced by the amount of moisture removed from the incoming cotton as well as the regulated drying temperature. The drying process uses some 0.74 – 3.90 m3 of natural gas or 2.27 – 5.61 litres of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) per bale. Overall thermal efficiency of the drying process is lower than 15%. The cost of gas in producing one bale ranges between $0.98–3.39/bale. Overall, the gas and electricity usage comprises approximately 39% and 61% respectively of the total energy usage (GJ/bale) in the cotton ginning process. On average, the total ―national benchmark energy cost (both electricity and gas) is $ 10.70/ bale. 60.38 kg of CO2 are emitted due to the energy use for processing each bale of cotton.

A method for the detailed monitoring of energy performance in cotton ginning is developed and described. Detailed monitoring and analysis were carried out at two gin sites. It is found that changes in trash content in the module, degree of moisture and lint quality produced do not have significant influence on electricity usage. However, the cotton variety is shown to affect the energy usage. The energy used within each ginning sub-process is quite different between the two gins monitored.

Overall, cotton handling is found to have the largest energy requirement and accounts for almost 50% of the total power usage in both gins. When combined, packaging and handling account for approximately 70% of the total power required. A significant proportion of motors inside the gins are found to operate at less than 40% loading. The low power factors of individual motors have been successfully corrected by the capacitor banks so that the overall power factor of the whole gin is satisfactory.

This project resolved two long-standing anomalies regarding Cry2Ab resistance in H. armigera. The first was the observation that frequently a greater proportion of survivors (assumed to be homozygous resistant insects) were observed in F2 tests than the expected 1/16. The second was that F1 tests yield a greater frequency of resistance than F2 tests. The latter anomaly has created concern as some observers question which test, or indeed do either test, provide reliable data. We have found that both anomalies stem from a common cause, namely that the offspring from single pairs of field-collected insects mate infrequently in the laboratory. As a result some F2 tests yield a distorted ratio of resistant and susceptible insects. Also when few females mate, the informative mating type (heterozygote x heterozygote) may not occur and a false negative F2 test is generated. This problem is not shared by F1 tests as only one round of mating is required (field insect x laboratory homozygous resistant) and if that mating does not occur, viable offspring are not generated and no result can be scored. Thus F1 tests provide a reliable measure of the frequency of resistance in the population.

While not part of the objectives of the project, studies on Vip3A resistance were also initiated. This proved fortuitous as Monsanto has announced an intention to add the vip3a gene to their Bollgard II variety to produce Bollgard III. Our work has permitted the determination of preliminary estimates of the frequency of Vip3A resistance in both species. For H. armigera 2.5% of all alleles are of the resistant form and thus resistance is exceptionally high. Preliminary characterisation of Vip3A resistance isolates of both H. armigera and H. punctigera is underway. Further work to detect and then test through complementation tests additional isolates is required. Other forms of resistance may be present that have quite different characteristics to the ones already examined and therefore pose a different level of threat. Further work is also required to determine if fitness costs are associated with Vip3A resistance before an appropriate RMP can be developed for Bollgard III that causes minimal constraints on growers while protecting the longevity of Bt technology.When contemplating a RMP for Bollgard III, one key point merits emphasis. The resistance status of Cry2Ab toxin is presently of concern and if the susceptibility of H. armigera populations is lost through the evolution of resistance before Bollgard III is widely deployed, much of the longevity of the new variety will be lost. The existing frequency of Vip3A resistance will ensure that susceptibility to the new toxin will be quickly lost. Then, despite Bollgard III being a three toxin product, it will be rendered the equivalent of a single toxin (Cry1Ac) product, perhaps indistinguishable in efficacy from the early transgenic variety Ingard. Then as functionally a single gene product, a reversion to a more restrictive RMP would be necessary to provide even limited longevity of the susceptibility of H. armigera to Cry1Ac. Recently, the Bt monitoring program has identified for the first time several instances of Cry1Ac resistance in H. punctigera, so that species would also need to be watched. The possibility that alternative technology companies with a different array of toxins may enter the Australian market is unlikely to offer a practical solution, as all varieties of transgenic cotton already commercialised, or nearing commercialisation, express one or more of the Cry1, Cry2 or Vip classes of toxins derived from Bacillus thuringiensis. Cross resistance occurs between different Cry1’s for other Lepidoptera (Ferré and Van Rie 2002) and is evident among different Cry2’s in H. armigera (Mahon et al. 2007a, Caccia et al. 2010). As our isolations of Vip resistance are the first for any species, cross resistance among Vip toxins is yet to be tested, but are also likely. Thus from theauthors perspective, in the longer term, if the Cry2Ab resistance situation deteriorates further, the industry should go to whatever lengths necessary to protect the susceptibility of Cry2Ab until Bollgard III becomes available. This might cause pain in the short term, but models of the evolution of resistance incorporating 10 years of data gathered on resistance to the three Bt toxins suggest that the payoff to growers through greatly increased longevity of the Bt technology would eclipse the temporary pain.

The ‘Regional Cotton Extension Officer’ has played a key role in improving the uptake of research

within the Cotton Industry by jointly working with the Cotton Catchment Communities Cooperative

Research Centre (Cotton CRC) and the NSW DII. This position is a critical component of regional

delivery, and is about delivering local outcomes within a national framework.

The Regional Cotton Extension Officers work with producers, industry and partner organisations to

achieve ‘on-ground’ outcomes through the development of collaborative activities and partnerships.

‘Cotton Fusarium Wilt Management’, had a number of objectives to obtain data to improve the management of this disease. The three year project resulted in several important outcomes with direct consequence for the industry.

Outcome 1. Collection of disease incidence data annually has enabled the quantification of the relative performance of disease threats and the effectiveness of response, and the detection of new pathogens and problems.

Planting resistant varieties, delaying planting to avoid cold shock and sowing seed treated with BION have contributed to the reduction in the incidence of Fusarium wilt over the last two seasons compared over eight.

Irrigation water management from Fusarium infested fields is important as use of irrigation water from the tail-drain will increase the incidence of Fusarium wilt.

It is important to manage volunteer cotton as they harbour pests and diseases; carrying them from season to season providing an inoculum source for re-infection of crops.

The identification of a new cotton pathogen in Australia during disease surveys highlights the importance of these surveys. Nematospora coryli is a fungus that causes several serious diseases of cotton including seed rot, internal boll rot (stigmatomycosis) and tight lock. The fungus is the only plant pathogenic yeast and is spread to bolls punctured by insects during feeding. Insect control is the best way to prevent infection, although improved cultivar resistance may be possible.

Outcome 2. The diversity of Fov in cotton growing regions is changing.

Further isolates of the Mungindi strain detected in 2005 were again detected in 2009 from the same field. Pathogenicity tests determined that these isolates were pathogenic on a susceptible cotton host. AFLP analysis determined that the isolates did not belong to VCG 01111 or 01112, but were similar to the original Mungindi strain. An understanding of pathogen diversity is very important when screening germplasm for resistance.

To enhance the diagnostic capabilities of DEEDI staff, training in Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism PCR has commenced. This technique will be used as a tool to characterise Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. vasinfectum (Fov).Outcome 3. Since the pathogen remains indefinitely in the soil, using rotations as a management tool may be limited; however a maize/sorghum-fallow-cotton rotation looks promising. Growers need to manage residues (and weeds) through fallow periods and use green manure/cover crops with caution where Fusarium is present.

An understanding of the effect of different rotation and residue management on incidence of Fusarium wilt in subsequent cotton crops will provide growers and consultants with greater options and improved decision support packages to manage Fusarium wilt.Outcome 4. Fusarium wilt severity is influenced by the balance of nutrients; however cultivars differing in disease resistance are affected differently in some instances.

Fertiliser recommendations are developed to optimise nutrient uptake and provide the crop with adequate nutrients for normal growth and yield. An understanding of how N, P and K influences Fusarium wilt severity will provide growers with improved decision making tools for the management of this disease.

These early trials in the investigation of N, P and K on disease management highlight the importance of nutrient balance in the soil. This is achieved through knowledge of what is present in the soil and what is being removed, and developing an appropriate nutrient replacement program.

In general, higher disease ratings were observed in plants with lower levels of nutrients applied, particularly low N (0 and 40 kg N/ha), and lower disease ratings tended to have higher N (120, 150 and 250 kg N/ha) and K (100 kg K/ha) applied.

Due to the ongoing drought throughout the cotton growing regions there has been a decline in both investment dollars and human resources. This decline had impacted on the cotton CRC's ability to extend new research from the scientific community to the industry's growers. Unfortunately, a number of the extension officers positions had been vacant throughout many of the cotton valleys for a period of time.

Therefore it was decided to look at an alternative approach to fulfilling the needs of the growers and ensure that they were being informed of the latest research and best management practices via the extension model.As such, project 5.01.23con was initiated so as to employ on a part time basis, the services of an independent consultant in the Lower Balonne region(St George, Dirranbandi & Thallon) to extend these new research outcomes to growers in these areas.

Dallas king via Balonne Agricultural consultancy was contracted for two years to provide this service to the Lower Balonne region.

The Australian Government’s investment in Firestarter’s One Life, One World, Our Future - Education for Sustainability Program in developing this Icon Project has created hundreds of regional and state partnerships between key natural resource

management agencies, schools, corporates, industry, tertiary institutions, non government agencies and the general public.

Seven successful programs and associated Conferences were held as part of the Icon Project, attracting 2106 delegates from 215 schools in Australia and overseas. Some 132 presentations were given by schools, assisted by almost 290 volunteers. Over 70 separate Environmental Project Day activities were held. Seven Steering Committees of experts were convened to oversee each Conference. A broad range of stakeholders and sponsors was attracted to each.

Firestarter’s enthusiasm, professionalism and skill meant the $500,000 investment from the Australian Government was used to leverage another $943,289. This does not include in kind support or the time and energy of members of the Steering

Committees, Reference Committee or mentors. Media coverage for all events was consistent and strong. Over the seven Conferences print, television and radio were

heavily used.

The delegate evaluation data shows that all participants were enthusiastic about their involvement in the One Life, One World, Our Future - Education for Sustainability Program. While individual recommendations have been developed for each of the separate events, overall it is clear that the evaluation was highly positive and that there is a strong demand for future, similar opportunities.

Post Conference, many schools have started new environmental initiatives within their communities. These projects demonstrate the lasting impact of the Kids Teaching Kids methodology and the One Life, One World, Our Future - Education for

Sustainability Program.

Demand, exposure, matched support and enthusiasm for the One Life, One World, Our Future - Education for Sustainability Program remains justifiably high. Firestarter recommends that long term, preferably three-year, funding is required to ensure

the ongoing development of this successful program.