The National Centre for Engineering in Agriculture (NCEA) is seeking feedback from growers about the incorporation of the John Deere 7760 On Board Module Builder (JD7760) into farming systems.

Bladder ketmia (Hibiscus trionum) is an increasingly problematic weed in the Australian cotton industry. Two varieties of the weed exist, narrow leaf bladder ketmia that can emerge, grow and produce seeds throughout the year, and wide leaf bladder ketmia that only grows throughout the cotton season, producing seeds in summer and autumn. Successive seedling flushes of the weed produce seeds within 46-62 days respectively, depending on the type. Between 2500 and 5000 seeds are produced on medium sized plants.

There are a number of minor weeds that occur throughout the Australian cotton industry that have considerable potential to spread and become increasing problems. Two of these are anoda weed (Anoda cristata) and velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti). Research has been focussed on these weeds in an effort to better understand the biology and lifecycle of these weeds to prevent further spread and to lead to increased management success. This paper briefly outlines that best management of these species can be achieved by controlling successive flushes of seedlings, preventing weed seed set and by rigorous farm hygiene practises. While these practises need to be part of an Integrated Weed Management (IWM) package, the limited suite of herbicides that are currently registered to control anoda weed, and lack of any herbicide registrations for velvetleaf is likely to hamper future management. This paper calls for further herbicide screening and registration of herbicides for both weeds in the Australian cotton industry. At present, one of the best means of management is the maintenance of rigorous standards of farm hygiene, akin to the Collie Clean Go Clean campaign used to prevent the spread of cotton pathogens

The weed management costs incurred by Australian cotton growers represent a significant and often under estimated loss to cotton cropping gross margins. Although there are likely to be a number of weeds present in cotton cropping fields at any one time, some species are more problematic than others' For example, weeds in the family Malvaceae (those related to cotton) are causing increasing problems in many areas, in particular bladder ketmia (Hibiscus trionum), Anoda weed (Anoda cristata) and velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti). This paper examines the costs of weed control between fields with and without bladder ketmia, anoda weed and velvetleaf

Economic losses and costs associated with weeds in dryland cotton production are important for growers, weeds researchers, and rural industry funding bodies when making decisions about research priorities and research and development funding. A survey was conducted to provide information on weed types and control strategies, from which estimated costs to growers were derived. We used information from the survey to estimate conventional financial losses due to weeds, and as a basis for evaluating aggregate economic (society) impacts. An economic surplus model was used to estimate the aggregate societal impact of weeds for the main cotton production region in sub-tropical Australia. The annual economic costs associated with weeds were estimated to be $19.6 million, and the on-farm financial costs were $24.7 million.

The main weeds and effectiveness of weed management practices used in dryland cotton cropping systems were identified using information collected in a postal and a field survey in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales. Forty-eight completed questionnaires were returned, and 32 paddocks were monitored in early and late summer for weed species and density.

The introduction of Roundup Ready@ cotton and the future release of other herbicide tolerant cotton varieties will allow more flexible weed management with greater emphasis on postemergence herbicides for weed control. To optimize the use of these herbicides and to minimize the risks associated with herbicide resistance and species shift, these technologies need to be introduced as part of an integrated weed management(IWM) program. The critical period for weed control is an important component of IWM and provides growers with information on when weeds are likely to interfere with crop growth, and when weed management strategies should be targeted to avoid yield reductions. Mimic weeds are plants that have similar biomass and leaf area to actual weeds encountered in the field and allow the development of critical periods for weed control that are applicable to a range of species, based on their competitive impact on cotton. The critical period for weed control allows for more flexible and effective management packages to be developed for a range of weeds and is similar conceptualIy to that already established for insect control using IPM in the Australian cotton industry.

Making the transition from theory to field practices, that reflect an IPM system is not simply the changing a management operation. It involves a holistic management approach, which only comes from you developing personal confidence and belief in the system. Changing to a soft chemistry approach is an aspect of IPM. However, it is not the only aspect. Growers should understand the principles behind IPM and then start to develop the system that is suitable for your operation gradually. An understanding of the principles of IPM is essential. As the principles of the system do not change; it is how you blend the components that give you the best results

Macintyre Downs is a 3500 hectare irrigation property along 15km of the northern side the Macintyre River, bordering NSW, west of Goondiwindi. As a family cotton growing business, our goals have always been to maximise profit with the best management we knew to employ. We have, as a result found ourselves now developing a system of management which takes us towards our goals for healthy profitable fanning, which could be labelled as 'Biological'. Becoming Biological Farmers was certainly not on our To Do list, whereas finding better ways to farm certainly was after some disappointing results with traditional management systems. The catalyst for us, in terms of investigating alternatives practices, was the aftermath of a particularly torrid cotton season in the late 90's, in which we were forced to re-evaluate practices after what we would consider unsustainable insect pressures and associated chemical use.

The Early Season Diagnostic (ESD) tool has been developed by the cotton management support systems team based at the Cotton CRC's Technology Resource Centre. The tool was released on the Australian Cotton CRC web site (cotton.crc.org.au) during the 2003 - 04 season, and has been developed to help growers identify growth problems in their cotton crop. By identifying potential problems sooner, the ESD tool can help growers achieve optimal crop growth, maturity and yield. The system is based on graphically comparing the observed crop development data with an optimum or target line. This target development rate has been generated from data over many years of research conducted by Dr. Greg Constable and colleagues