The 2011 Australian Cotton Comparative Analysis (ACCA) is the seventh report produced by Boyce Chartered Accountants in conjunction with the Cotton Research & Development Corporation (CRDC). Prior to that Boyce had produced the report since 1986.

In this report, we present an analytical review of the 2011 results, a comparison with

prior years and comments on emerging trends. This year was a record year in terms of plantings, bale production and price. After 10 years of general drought, the extent of the wet ironically caused problems, especially in Central Queensland and the Darling Downs. Having said that, it was great to see the industry back to full production.

Yield continues to be ‘king’ in terms of profitability, while extreme weather events seem to have become the norm. The ability to adapt to, and potentially benefit from, extreme weather events is becoming more important. The continuing clear message in this and previous reports has been the required focus on yield as opposed to cost reduction or price enhancement. With increased hectares grown this year, we are seeing a return to more average costings as overheads are once again spread over full hectares. When reviewing the ten year schedules, you need to be aware that in some of the previous years the fixed and semi fixed costs have been allocated over a smaller area due to drought, and this has meant that the costs are higher than a ‘normal year’.

Since the drought started, the industry has been searching for row configurations that make the most efficient use of water. To ensure you get the most out of these figures, it is worthwhile to stress that:

a. in drought years, a grower may not be included in this analysis as they may not have grown a crop

under normal irrigation practices, and

b. the results from different row configurations other than solid have NOT been included in this analysis unless they could be ‘normalised’ to solid configuration equivalent.

For these reasons, care should be taken when using the results from this analysis as an indicator of the profitability of the industry as a whole. Understanding the basis on which the analysis is constructed is the key to getting the most out of this study

This project comprised two key parts:

A. The compilation and review of a Best Management Practices manual for the Storage

and Handling sector of the Australian cotton industry; and

B. The review and update of a Cotton Bale Load Restraint guide for the transport

industry.

These two documents provide concise and comprehensive guidelines for the transport and handling of cotton from the point where bales are loaded from the gin, to the point where they are loaded in the container, covering off on:

. industry requirements of efficiency, quality control, OH&S and environment/community requirements;

. statutory requirements with regards load stability and safety.

The project has also assisted in the delivery of load width exemptions for cotton bale transport in NSW and Queensland, thereby improving the efficiency and safety of bale transport. In tenns of labour, it is estimated that the ability to load 3 wide reduces the labour component by approximately 0.4 minutes per bale. Hence, in a 5 million bale crop, this equates to a saving of approximately 33,300 inari/machine hours (plus down time for transport operators), which conservativeIy would provide savings of $2.5-3 million for industry.

Future Work: The revised Cotton Bale Load Restraint Guide has, however, created some

efficiency concerns for transport operators and ginners, who have raised concerns that some

of the strapping requirements to meet statutory perfonnance based load stability standards

may be excessive. There may be further requirement to discuss and identify alternate

preferred load and strapping requirements with ginners and transport operators based on " " ificallali,edtodetemiineminimum

strapping requirement for each identified load configuration.

This work would require coordination between Cotton Research and Development Corporation, Cotton Australia, the Australian Cotton Ginners Association and the Australian Cotton Shippers Association.

The glass transition temperature (Tg) is the thermal transition at which point a polymer goes from a firm glassy state to a more pliable form. Like all polymers, the glass transition is a property which is key to understanding the characteristics and performance of cellulose. Cellulose is the world’s most abundant biopolymer and it is found in its purest form in cotton. With the support of the Cotton Research and Development Corporation (CRDC), this work was undertaken to improve the understanding of the glass transition behaviour of cotton and regenerated cellulose. This knowledge is important for identifying optimum temperature and moisture conditions to manage current post-harvest cotton processing methods, nominally ginning but also spinning mill processing, and in turn improve the productivity and performance of the Australian cotton industry. Successful measurement of a reduction in modulus in DMA; calculation of Tg at the point of freezing, using DSC to measure the colligative effect of cotton in water; and measurement of mass change with the addition of water using DVS, have all indicated that cellulose does in fact go through a glass transition, and is measureable. Considered together, the results are strongly in favour of the existence of a glass transition in cellulose.

The glass transition temperature is a fundamental property of all amorphous and semi-crystalline polymers, including cotton and other celluloses. At this temperature many properties, such as modulus, heat capacity, density, refractive index, dielectric constant, thermal expansion and rate of diffusion show a distinct change. It is thus important to be able to measure the glass transition temperature, however this has proved challenging for cotton due mainly to its high level of crystallinity. This chapter outlines the relationship between the chemical structure and the glass transition temperature of polymers in general as well as the effect of physical ageing and plasticization. Models to predict the effect of plasticization are also discussed. The moisture uptake of cotton and the attempts to measure the glass transition temperature of cotton and other celluloses, in both the dry state and as a function of moisture content, are detailed. Dry cotton is estimated to have a glass transition temperature of 220°C, with the value dropping to below zero when saturated with water. Cotton is the purest natural form of the biopolymer cellulose. It is important to understand the glass transition behaviour of cellulose and utilise this knowledge to optimise temperature and moisture levels during processing. Doing so will reduce the vulnerability of fibres to damage and improve overall fibre, yarn and fabric quality.

This report is a result of the national extension/education review which was a flagship project of the Co-operative Venture for Capacity Building for Innovation in rural Industries(CVCB).The review sought a range of extension and education projects across industries and issues in rural and regional Australia to learn 'what works and why'.

Extension is described in terms of it's outcome, ie. capacity building. It is defined as the process of engaging individuals, groups and communities so that people are more able to deal with issues affecting them and opportunities open to them.

I feel that the trip was particularly successful. In my own research I have found that diverse communities of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) actually survive in the cotton cropping soils at Narrabri. Before I started my PhD it was generally considered that AMF are sensitive to agricultural practices and that diversity is low in these systems. In Spain I met with several people who have also found high AMF diversity in cropped soils. This was very exciting. I also had many queries about the AMF PCR primers I developed during the project.

The 13th Australian Cotton Conference in August 2006 provided an excellent 'showcase' to

enhance the outputs from CRDC funded research to the industry. The largest gathering of

cotton growers in the industry calendar was presented with information in various formats

during the conference program that demonstrated (and extends) improvements in outcomes

for the industry and it's regional economies.

Growers and industry personnel were challenged to respond to (adopt) the findings of

research and extension projects through 'less uncertainty and greater clarity' around

maximising their profitability and sustainability through the adoption of home grown

Research and Development.

The conference programme showcased improvements in the industry's 'Triple Bottom Line'

from CRDC funded research. This was enhanced by the attendance of over 1,300 industry

delegates and the discussion and networking opportunities over the three days.

The production of 'virtual posters' and the conference proceedings provides an on-going

record of the challenges and opportunities facing the industry at this time. Research providing

economic, environmental and social outcomes was deliberately incorporated and linked in the

conference programme.

The conference programme targeted the major issues of cotton farm profitability,

Opportunities for our product along the value chain and our industry's contribution to the

economic, environmental and social outcomes of regional communities.

The introduction of transgenic cotton within the cotton industry has allowed for increased yields due to

decreased losses from insect activities. The main pests which have been targeted through the genetic

modification are Helicoverpa punctigera and Helicoverpa armigera. The reduction in the presence of these

two species could have several ecological implications, including an increase in other lepidopteran species

more tolerant to Bt toxins that were previously suppressed by Helicoverpa spp. The results presented in this

report are part of a Masters thesis which will look at the moth communities in Bt cotton and its refuges over

four seasons. The results presented here focus on the 2015/16 season. During this season low numbers of

moths were caught, which matched the low numbers of Helicoverpa caught in the same traps. There was no

difference in the Lepidopteran communities between crops, and in particular Bt and non-Bt cotton. This was

probably due to the low sample sizes, and may also reflect a finding in other cotton communities, that

differences in Bt and non-Bt cotton communities are only found when there is high Helicoverpa pressure.

There was a difference in the number of moths found in pigeon pea and cotton, with more moths found in

cotton in January, and more moths were found in pigeon pea in February. This may reflect the phenology of

the crops where cotton is flowering and probably more attractive in January than February, while pigeon pea

tends to remain attractive and flowering later in the season.

Cotton fibre is the most important natural textile fibre, but it requires intensive scouring to disrupt the hydrophobic cuticle to allow dye to penetrate. The standard fibre qualities and amount of waxy cuticle material on cotton fibre varies across genotype. Some research has been undertaken addressing the influence of environment and management on standard fibre qualities and wax content, however no clear effect of either has been shown on cotton fibre cuticular wax despite the influence these variables have been shown to have on other standard fibre qualities and the cuticular wax content of other aerial surfaces of cotton plants. Predicted changes in climate in future will influence the ambient temperature of growing regions, likely increasing the amount of heat stress on cotton plants and may also affect water availability leading to water deficit stress. The effects of heat and water stress during flowering and early to mid fibre development period was captured for two consecutive growing seasons in a field production scenario for five upland cotton genotypes that varied in their known tolerance to both heat and water stress. It was hypothesized that stress at this time would tend to influence fibre initiation phases that might affect fibre perimeter determination and fibre lengthening, as well as wax content which is known to be deposited typically before the secondary cell wall thickening phase of fibre development. For all genotypes, water deficit increased measured cross-sectional properties with an associated increase measured in micronaire for both experiments. Increases were also seen following heat stress for fineness and maturity ratio in the second season. For fibre length, either water deficit alone or a combination of water deficit and heat stress, reduced fibre length for all but two genotypes. The exceptions were the water stress tolerant genotype which did not respond to water stress alone, and the poor water stress tolerant genotype which did not respond to either stress. Heat stress alone appeared to play the dominant role in reducing fibre length for the genotype included for its good water use efficiency. Either water deficit stress or a combination of both stress treatments, increased cotton fibre strength in one of the experiments, while only a combination of both stress types in the other experiment produced the same effect. Both heat and water deficit stress were shown to significantly influence fibre cuticular wax deposition, but the effect was genotype dependant with the greatest effect observed on the genotypes included for poor heat tolerance and poor water deficit tolerance. For these genotypes significant increases were measured in cuticular wax. In an attempt to replicate the effects of water stress seen the field experiment in a glasshouse setting, water deficit stress was applied to a white control genotype, a naturally coloured high wax green genotype, and the poor water stress tolerant genotype. The only effects of water stress on fibre properties were to increase fibre fineness and strength, and decrease length, for which a main effect of stress was measured. There were no significant effects on fibre cuticular wax content or other fibre cross-sectional properties. This was attributed to the possible differences in the severity of the stress between the two experiments. Following this, an investigation into the dyeability of fabrics made from three different naturally coloured upland cottons with varying wax content was undertaken. One common white cotton, and two un-common coloured cottons, one brown and one green, were used for experiments. It was hypothesised that following dyeing, fabrics that were not scoured would have inferior colour fastness following a standard fabric wash test. The effect was expected to be more prominent for fabric made from the higher wax content coloured cottons. Fabrics made from these cottons were subjected to either traditional NaOH caustic scouring or hot ETOH scouring which more specifically targets the waxes, before being dyed and washed.

Any cotton imported into Australia is treated to ensure that the consignment is free of live insects, soil and other debris (faeces, animal materials etc) and to verify that any quarantine risk material present will be dealt with during processing. The quarantine treatments used can be either or chemical (fumigation). Following previous studies AQIS have agreed to suspend the treatment of samples with gamma irradiation due to the resultant damage to the physical fibre properties. There are two quarantine treatments currently prescribed by AQIS which involves chemical (fumigation) with ethylene oxide. The two treatments involve fumigation under an initial minimum vacuum of 50 kilopascals at 1200 g/m³ for 5 hours at 50oC or at 1500 g/m³ for 24 hours at 21C.

This study has shown that the fumigation of cotton lint samples with ethylene oxide for 24 hours at 21C and 5 hours at 50C, as per AQIS requirement had no effect on the physical properties (such as length, strength and Micronaire) of the fibre. The study however found that fumigation with ethylene oxide did result in a permanent change in the colour value and subsequently the colour grade of the cotton. In most cases the reflectance value (Rd) decreased while the yellowness (+b) was unaffected, which in essence means that the fibre has become darker. This was most apparent for the Upland USDA cotton Grades 11, 21 and 31 as well as the ELS USDA cotton grades Pima 1A-3B. These changes in the reflectance values will result in the HVI instrument wrongly classifying the cotton one grade higher (i.e. worse than), for example the Grade 11 cotton will be graded 21 and the 21 will be graded 31.This will lead to the instrument failing to calibrate and it will also impossible to qualify the instrument. It is however interesting to note that the Australian cotton which is generally whiter than the US cotton seemed unaffected by the fumigation treatments, with only a slight change to the +b value, with the cotton becoming slightly yellower.

Although the results vary considerably and there are no definite trends, in general this change in the Rd value is related to a decrease in residual ethylene oxide. We surmise that the cause of this could be associated with the ethylene oxide damaging the surface wax layer causing it to become pitted and less smooth resulting in the surface of the fibre reflecting light more diffusely. As the Australian cotton is whiter, with lower +b values it seems that the damage by the ethylene oxide is not as apparent as noted with the US cottons. This hypothesis will be tested in future work.

We recommend that further work needs to be carried out on cotton to further refine our understanding of the effects of the fumigation process.

Cottonspec is a yarn quality prediction software developed by CSIRO with support from the CCC CRC, CRDC and Chinese partner mills. Validation trials conducted as part of this project showed Cottonspec was a useful mill management tool, giving spinners immediate feedback on the fibre they use in terms of yarn quality. The software program gives excellent predictions of yarn tenacity and evenness from (five) HVI properties.

Cottonspec will be launched in China later this year at a technical seminar to be held jointly by CSIRO, ACSA and the China Cotton Textile Association (CCTA).

Cottonspec has the capacity to improve the classification of Australian cotton by linking cotton fibre quality with yarn quality with theoretical modelling. The prediction algorithms favour fine, long, strong cotton, i.e. play on Australian cotton fibre characteristics. The package can be used by spinners to select the most suitable cottons that best meet the spinner’s needs, or as a quality control tool to benchmark performance against “best commercial practice”. Cottonspec can also be used as a trading tool for merchants to promote the value of a particular growth, or used by cotton researchers and grower collectives to assess and promote new cotton varieties. Cottonspec could prove to be an invaluable tool to promote Australian Long Staple (ALS) cotton to mills for production of high quality yarns. Cottonspec has excellent potential to help create demand pull from high-end mills for ALS cotton. The commercialisation of Cottonspec through an extension project will create stronger partnership with quality mills to enable feedbacks on future fibre quality demands and yarn and fabric trends; and to create demand for ALS cotton.

The impacts of Cottonspec on mill performance are demonstrated by the example of the Chongqing Sanxia No. 1 Mill, a key partner mill in the project. Established in 2005 this mill is one of the most modern mills in China. Through collaboration with the Cottonspec project the quality of yarn produced by this mill has lifted dramatically. Now the mill is among the top five mills in China in terms of quality. All of the yarn this mill produces is exported to Europe and Japan. Moreover, before the project this mill had never used Australian cotton. In 2010-2011 this mill used 3350 tons of Australian cotton, making up about 20% of its lay-downs and its management has made plans to increase this proportion in the next few years.

The successful commercialisation through the extension project ‘Commercial Ready Cottonspec’ will enhance the cotton industry's current drive towards the production of high quality fibre that is differentiated by its inherent quality and the information around its quality. The combination of industry understanding and demand pull from stragegic partner mills in China for high quality Australian cotton will help fulfil the industry's ambitions to develop a high quality product.