The &quote;Diseases of Cotton&quote; projects have run since 1984 and have played a key role in monitoring the emergence and decline of cotton diseases over time, often following the adoption of new technologies.Consequently, the data gathered through these projects has helped the industry assess the effectiveness of its R&D investment in cotton breeding and integrated disease management. The research outlined in this report adds to the important long-term data set of disease severity and incidence collected throughout other Diseases of Cotton projects.In-depth molecular studies highlight previously unknown variation in some seedling pathogen populations that may explain increased seedling mortality in southern NSW. And results of long-term experiments at the Australian Cotton Research Institute continue to build a better picture of the effectiveness or otherwise of potential integrated disease management strategies over time.

Sicot F-1 is a new cotton variety released in 2004. It has been developed specifically in response to the appearance of a new unique strain of the Fusarium wilt pathogen in Australia. This article describes the identification of introduced germplasm with greater resistance to Fusarium wilt than was evident in local varieties and also in varieties resistant to other strains of the pathogen in other countries. The development of Sicot F-1 from that material is described. The level of resistance is double that of the standard SiCot 189. Fusarium wilt of cotton in Australia, caused by the soil-borne fungus fusarium oxysporum vasinfectum, was first noticed and identified by Joe Kochman on the Darling Downs in 1993. The pathogen is thought to have been present as a native on weeds and well-suited to susceptible varieties of cotton grown through the 1980s. The pathogen is very virulent, capable of killing 100% of plants of a susceptible variety when high levels of inoculum are present. The disease has spread to and identified in all cotton growing regions in eastern Australia except Emerald, lower Namoi, Lachlan Valley and Tandou. Farm hygiene and other Integrated Disease Management practices are also important and are promoted in many venues. This paper describes the identification of resistance and development of a new variety.

Airborne volatiles emitted by flowers and other vegetative plant parts that attract insects for feeding and egg-laying could be useful in pest management. Over the last 6 years or so, we have developed blends of plant volatiles that can be used as attract-and-kill for Helicoverpa moths in cotton and other crops. Our first approach to developing attractants was to screen various plants for attractiveness to these moths in the laboratory using an o1factometer (Beerwinkle et al 1996), and to identify the compounds emitted by these plants (Gregg et al 1998). Our attractant blends were not mimics of certain attractive plants but mixtures or &quote;super blends&quote; of compounds that were in common in the most attractive plants. Small-scale field trials on sweet coin and green beans in Bowen, Qld showed that attractant blends including 0.5% methomyl killed substantial numbers of Helicoverpa and other noctuid pest moths for up to 6 days after spraying (Del Socorro et al 2002). In this paper, we will describe the two large-scale field trials of attract-and kill in cotton during the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 seasons on the property &quote;Warnara&quote;, near Cecil Plains, Qld, including the impact of these trials on moth numbers and oviposition, and the implications of attract-and-kill technology as a novel tool in the area-wide management of Helicoverpa

Seedling establishment typically represents a significant bottleneck in the population dynamics of trees and shrubs in riparian and floodplain habitats of inland Australia (e.g. George et al., 2005; Thoms et al., 2007). Woody riparian species of semi-arid and arid regions often produce large numbers of seeds that typically germinate rapidly and opportunistically (e.g. Streng et al., 1989; Chong and Walker, 2005). The survival of seedlings in these hydrologically variable habitats, however, tends to be low and patchy, both spatially and temporally (Streng et al., 1989; Hughes, 1990; Cooper et al., 1999; Horton and Clark, 2001). Knowledge of the factors influencing seedling survival is therefore critical to understanding vegetation dynamics in these environments.Vegetation structure in semi-arid and arid riparian and floodplain habitats is usually governed by the unpredictable patterns of flooding and drying that characterise these environments (e.g. Stromberg 2001; Brock et al., 2006). Hydrology also tends to have an overriding effect on seedling growth and survival in riparian habitats (e.g. Cooper et al., 1999; Horton and Clark, 2001; Capon et al., 2009). Seedlings are typically more vulnerable to the stresses imposed by flooding and drought than mature plants due to their smaller size (Cooper et al., 1999; Gindaba et al., 2004). Flooding can have a direct influence on seedlings through soil anoxia and toxicity, reduced light, mechanical damage and burial but may also provide structural support (Blom et al., 1990; 1996). The magnitude of these flood-induced effects are likely to vary with seedling size and developmental stage as well as flood characteristics such as depth, duration and timing (e.g. Capon et al., 2009). In arid systems, floodwaters also provide an important source of soil moisture during periods of flood recession which may favour seedling growth. The rate of drawdown of the water table can therefore be an important influence on the survival of seedlings into subsequent dry periods (Horton and Clark, 2011).

The Healthy Soils for Sustainanable Farms - Accelerating adoption of integrated soil management practices in irrigated cotton and grain&quote; rejuvenated soils extension and emphasised the importance of soil health in the irrigated cotton and grains industry.

With the introduction of cotton containing the two Bollgard II® genes (Cry1Ac and CryIIAc), the need for cotton producers to spray their crops with pesticides to control Helicoverpa spp. has been greatly reduced (Fitt, 2000). This has made cotton more suitable to Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies that are an ever increasing economically and environmentally sound approach to the control of pests (Fitt et al 2004). IPM strategies have provided the grower with many benefits in terms of costs saved, and to the community in terms of lower levels of insecticide in the environment (Fitt, 2000). Most notably, there has been a marked reduction in pesticide use and a shift to using softer (target-specific) pesticides, as well as a greater interest in the management of beneficial invertebrates such as predators and parasitoids (Hoque et al 2000, Mansfield et al 2006).However the major challenge to the sustainable use of Bt cotton is the risk of Helicoverpa spp. developing resistance to the Cry toxins (Fitt, 2000). Resistance to conventional Bt sprays has evolved in field populations of another moth (Plutella xylostella), Bt resistant strains of H. armigera have been generated in the laboratory, and alleles that confer resistance have been isolated from field populations (Downes et al 2010; Mahon et al 2007; Baker et al 2008). Concerns for Bt resistance are well founded, and much effort is being applied to developing and implementing resistance management strategies.

Domestic, high definition video cameras are capable of recording predatory events in cotton crops in considerable detail. Modifications to the power supply and shielding to protect the cameras from the elements can be made easily and cheaply.The cost per camera and associated hardware is approximately AUS$2,200. Software to support a set of cameras would cost another $1000 dollars although this would depend on the quality of the images needed, the size of the files to be stored and the time available to download events. We assume portable computers and various large capacity hard drives are available. Both are relatively cheap these days.The cameras are likely to get too hot if used in full sun positions (even with a sun shield) during the hottest parts of the day for some regions (ca. 12-00 to 15:00 pm in mid-summer), however for many months and over periods when insects are most active (dawn and dusk) temperatures would be acceptable. The camera houses used in this project would be sufficient for many studies.This project has captured parasitism of a late instar Helicoverpa larvae by a large Ichneumonid wasp. This was captured by leaving the cameras for 3 hours unattended from 6-00 am to 9-00 am in a clover pasture at UNE. This event is an excellent example of the performance of the camera system tested in this project.

The regional extension positions were part of the Cotton CRC National Cotton Extension Team which has worked on an industry-wide scale to take a knowledge management approach to deliver grower focused, participatory adoption and extension programmes. Both NSW Extenion officers became well established during 2007 having initiated and conducted a broad range of extension activities according to well developed regional and national extension plans. Regional priorities and needs were identified, prioritised and incorporated in work plans in collaboration with growers, consultants and other extension officers.The extent of achievement against all objectives has been hampered by the on going severe drought. In addition impacting on the effectiveness of the role has been the uncertainty of the ongoing nature of the positions over the last 12 months. Both extension officers applied a range of extension delivery methods during the time. However, they both experienced considerable difficulty in engaging significant numbers of growers given the dry season which, combined with low prices for cotton and higher grain returns, resulted in significantly reduced cotton plantings in both regions.As previously mentioned there was also reduced trial work due to the smaller areas and associated issues. Growers were less likely to want a 10ha trial when only growing 100ha due to the extra work associated with set up etc. An example of this is the row space trial that could only be run on a corporate farm where there are more resources in place. This trial was significant to the region as it answered a lot of questions and it has been of particular benefit to newer growers in the area. However a lot of growers have their own priorities in terms of trials and therefore they concentrate more on these activities. Whilst there can be opportunities to become involved sometimes there might be commercial partners who would prefer to keep the information confidential in the early years.Essentially most growers pay an agronomic consultant to assist them with growing their crop and therefore due to this growers depend on their consultant for information. This is especially the case for established growers. New growers require more general information and therefore they do tend to rely more on extension services.The most well attended activities were the hands on practical activities held on farm that ran for a short duration eg planting workshop with practical demonstration. In terms of workshops growers once again liked the practical ones where the workshop actually provided them with information pertaining to a decision that might have been pending in terms of their business unit. A great example is the lateral move course that provided growers with reasons for why they should perhaps set one up, and also the issues assisted with the technology.Extension activities in benchmarking regional production information and trends, such as the Macquarie Valley Review of High Yielding Crops, were also well received by growers and consultants in providing valuable resource information for growers to benchmark their performance against.In terms of adoption one of the highlights for this region is the gain's in earliness attributed to field walks and discussions based on crop cut out. This idea is now leading to trials to be conducted into the future that will most likely only benefit growers in the south due to the unique growing conditions of southern NSW.The implementation of industry BMP provides an ideal framework in which to deliver these strategies in collaboration with the Cotton Australia Regional managers. The existing strong partnerships with consultants and agribusiness must be maintained and enhanced.

With an increase in world population and recent global climate changes causing increasingly unpredictable and extreme weather patterns, the reliance on groundwater is and will continue to be increasing. As a result, there has been an increase in research efforts to better understand groundwater processes, in particular how these interact with surface water systems and how groundwater abstraction affects this interaction. The aim of this thesis is to create an understanding of these processes through the use of a generic numerical model of river, aquifer and abstraction bore.A numerical model domain was defined for an aquifer-river system based on the general aquifer geometry and aquifer parameters at Elfin Crossing in Maules Creek. Model parameters such as hydraulic conductivity and gradient, distance of pumping bore from the river, pumping rate and a streambed clogging layer were varied within reasonable bounds for the field site. The aim was to quantify the influence each parameter has in terms of stream depletion and the time for the river water to reach the pumping bore. From these parameters values were selected to create a base case model. In addition realistic upper and lower values of each parameter were combined to make worst and best case scenarios. Then through a sensitivity analysis these scenarios were compared to observe the combined effects of these parameters on the system response and the stream flow depletion.Results of the sensitivity analysis found that the greatest effect was the distance that the abstraction bore was placed from the river followed by the pumping rate, then the hydraulic conductivity and the streambed clogging layer. It was also found that pumping induced by parameters when applied to historical flow data from Maules Creek caused extremely low flow values which could decrease water quality and deny downstream users of valuable irrigation water.

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