With increasing focus on water used in agriculture and continued pressure to maximise efficiency within cotton irrigated systems, this project aimed to improve understanding of irrigation management within emerging systems and to develop future tools to assist with water management in these systems. This project continued research from CSP139C -'Application of crop simulation within the Australian Cotton industry' (Richards), which demonstrated the value of focussed risk analysis tools to cotton growers and developed the Hydrologic irrigation management system

Summer Scholarship: Life cycle assessment of cotton-corn rotations In today's society, global warming and climate change are two of the most important issues facing all aspects of production within Australia, and throughout the world (Fischer et al. 2002). Given this broad public concern more attention is now placed on the lifecycle environmental impacts of food and fibre production (Khabbaz 2010), including the extent to which agriculture contributes to these greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and global warming. Recently new opportunities have also emerged within Australia with the introduction of carbon trading markets, such as the Carbon Farming Initiative (Dept. of Climate Change 2011). It is therefore important to have an accurate picture of the emissions profile of these agricultural industries. Australia agriculture produced an estimated 84.7 Mt carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions or 15.5 % of national inventory emissions in 2009 (Dept. of Climate Change 2011), of this 31.5% is attributed to non-livestock activities such as cropping. There is a need for more detailed analysis to determine the impacts from different enterprises, with differing practices and emissions. For this project, case studies of cotton and corn were selected as they are two economically important irrigated crops in Australian agriculture. Australia's cotton sector is one of Australia's largest rural export earners, generating approximately $825 million in export revenue in the year 2006-07 (ABARE 2007), and even though the corn industry is relatively small in Australia, demand is increasing due to the added competition for the production of and animal feed and biofuels (Glover et al. 2008).

The Australian Cotton Centre opened in July, 2002. The ACC is located in the centre ofAustralia's cotton growing regions on the Newell Highway within Narrabri. It has since wonthe 2003 NSW Tourism Award of Distinction for New Tourism Development, demonstratingits ability to deliver a professional, high quality attraction. It focuses on combining tourismand education to achieve a greater awareness of the cotton industry as it moves towardssustainability over time. The benefits of the ACC to the cotton industry throughout Australiaare significant. The ACC is proving to be an important tool in educating the general publicabout the benefits and processes of Australia's cotton industry and providing awareness ofthe most commonly used fibre in the world - yet so little is known about it by most societies.The &#39Water Wise&#39 exhibit will join the stable of other Questacon designed exhibits within theCentre and enhance the visitor&#39s knowledge and values of environmental issues.

The Australian cotton industry relies heavily on transgenic cotton expressing Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) toxins for the effective control of the major pest Helicoverpa. The use of Bt crops has dramatically reduced chemical pesticide usage, meaning there is now a greater emphasis on integrated pest management strategies such as biological pest control using natural enemy insects. This study divulged the possible effects of the Bt toxins, specifically Cry2Ab, on natural predators and parasitoids. Two non-target beneficial insects were studied, one hemipteran predator, Nabis kinbergii, and one dipteran parasitoid, Carcelia illota. It was shown that the development time to adulthood, and the adult length and weight of N. kinbergii feeding on resistant H. armigera larvae fed Cry2Ab toxin were not affected. This suggests that N. kinbergii are able to effectively predate Helicoverpa in Bt fields. Adult length and weight of C. illota was shown to be unaffected by feeding on resistant larvae fed Cry2Ab toxin. However, there was some effect from the Cry2Ab toxin and/or the resistant genotype on the juvenile development of C. illota. This needs further investigation to determine the physiological significance, but to the best of my knowledge this effect does not transfer into adult flies, meaning C. illota are still able to effectively parasitise Helicoverpa thereby minimising the population in Bt cotton crops.

Quantify and compare the amount of water used and lost (deep drainage) in; field in four siphon-less irrigation systems and corresponding furrow irrigated fields. Quantify and compare development costs, labour savings and yields of the four systems and corresponding furrow irrigated fields. Determine and promote the most water use efficient siphon-less irrigation system. Determine grower motivation for adopting one siphon-less irrigation method over another. Educate irrigators and stakeholders on and promote the adoption of water use efficient irrigation systems, deep drainage and any salinity management issues.

This project aimed to examine literature related to social capital and adaptive capacity across three fields: NRM, Community Development and Health and Wellbeing. The project firstly compiled a database of relevant literature, then produced an annotated bibliography, for use in the broader Cotton CRC funded project titled: 'Securing the Socio-economic Wellbeing of Rural Communities.' The literature revealed that while there were commonalities across the fields, context mattered a great deal, and contributed significantly to which factors were of greatest importance in various scenarios and that these factors were to a high degree, interdependent. What this means for the broader project, is that a key component of any adaptive capacity framework developed, must consider the importance of interdependencies between critical attributes of capacity that are specific and local, and which may differ between rural communities.

Schedule 1.2 employed a Catchment Officer who was located at the Cotton CRC Office at Myall Vale and was responsible for delivering NRM technical advice, developing extension material and developing and managing investment projects within the lower Namoi catchment. The Catchment Officer facilitated a large number of NRM extension activities including 60 farm visits for the extension of 1 on 1 NRM extension advice with cotton growers and other landholders, producing and/or contributing to 10 publications, organizing 9 field days at which approximately 300 people attended and giving 8 presentations at cotton industry field day, forums and conferences.The Catchment Officer has contributed to the developed a number of resources to assist landholders and extension staff managing natural resources on farms including:- Pests and Beneficial Insects in Australian Cotton landscapes Guidebook, Sustainable Landscapes Section - Principles for Native Vegetation Management.- &quote;Soil Sodicity&quote; fact sheet -NCMA Groundcover Demonstration Trials Program- A Cotton Landscapes Native Vegetation Action Plan for cotton growers- A Native Vegetation Condition assessment for Cotton GrowersThe success of the partnership was acknowledged by the Cotton CRC at the 2010 Science Forum with the NCMA and the project officer being awarded The Impact on Adoption Award.Partnering with the Cotton CRC has enabled the Catchment Officer to integrate research from the CRC&#39s Catchment Programme into extension activities and ultimately deliver NRM outcomes in the Namoi Catchment. This report illustrates the wide audience reached by the Catchment Officer and the NRM outcomes achieved in the cotton industry and in this part of the Catchment.

This evaluation has not been designed to quantitatively measure the extent of the impact of the project and its range of activities on NRM awareness, collaboration and practice change. Given the two year timeframe of the project, there is not an expectation of direct widespread on-ground impact. However, the evidence from the project reports, informed persons and case studies is that the project has made some strong inroads towards this end and has effectively generated a new ripple of interest and possibilities for more effective NRM management in the cotton industry and its catchment communities. The challenge now is build on what has been started and to turn the ripple into a tide. ~

Eucalyptus coolabah subsp. coolabah (coolibah) and E.largiflorens (black box) are two dominant floodplain species of Australia's Murray-DarlingBasin. Over the past 200 years widespread clearing and altered flood regimes have greatly restricted the distribution of both species, and recruitment events are rare and poorly understood. Little is known regarding the life history of each of the two species, for instance, until recently mass recruitment events of coolibah were considered to be an invasive response activated by flooding events, however, it is now thought that these rare recruitment events are part of the species natural reproductive strategy. To further our knowledge and fill the existing gaps regarding the recruitment of coolibah and black box, we conducted a series of germination trials to 1) determine the optimal temperature for germination, and 2) establish the effect of leaf litter on germination. We found that both species required alternating temperatures for optimal germination, with coolibah exhibiting a wider range of optimal germination temperatures than black box. Leaf litter was found to inhibit germination in both eucalyptspecies due to the direct effects it has on light availability and temperature conditioning. The long-term survival of floodplain eucalypts depends upon a thorough understanding of their life history. The results from this study can be used to assist in making well informed management and conservation decisions.

To extend and promote the adaptation and adoption of new technologies into sound management practices in the Border Rivers region including the Macintyre Valley and Mungindi areas.