Diseases of Cotton X

This project aimed to identify means to improve nutrient use-efficiency in Australian cotton production systems and to improve soil health/fertility. The NutriLOGIC DSS provides an updated resource for cotton growers to manage soil fertility and cotton nutrition. This program provides recommendations to optimise crop nutrition through interpreting soil and plant analyses.N use-efficiency has been benchmarked and indicates the cotton industry substantially over-uses N fertiliser. The industry can safely reduce N fertiliser inputs by about 25% without reducing yield.The cotton industry can become carbon positive by adopting minimum tillage practices, by incorporating all crop stubble, by including legume crops in the rotation and reducing fallow times. Producing cotton using sustainable soil and crop management and reducing our net CO2e emissions will greatly assist marketing Australian cotton.Soil health can be improved dramatically with legume cropping. Marked improvements can be seen in the soil physical environment, chemical fertility and biological activity in those cropping systems that include legumes. For example, the cotton-vetch-fallow-cotton rotation remains the highest-yielding system and requires very little N fertiliser and therefore produces low carbon emissions.

Final Report: Linking cotton-pathogen molecular interactions and black root rot management

Final report Quantifying deep drainage in an irrigated cotton landscape

The purpose of the economic evaluation reported in this paper was to determine the potential benefits of the Cotton CRC's scientific research to the Australian cotton industry. It was considered that the main effect of the Cotton CRC's research was to increase the scale and intensity of research and to expedite the delivery of new technologies to the cotton industry through the provision of additional research funding and by reinforcing the collaborative links that exist among Australian cotton research institutions. Estimates are made of the potential benefits to the Cotton CRCs five main scientific programs (diseases, insects, soils, water and weeds) and the entire Cotton CRC using well-recognised economic modelling methods that have been adopted in recent economic evaluations of other agricultural CRCs and of the large scale research programs supported by the Australian Government. The results of this evaluation indicate that the Cotton CRC could generate significant economic benefits to the Australian cotton industry where its research programs lead to increases in industry productivity by promoting faster rates and higher levels of new technology adoption. Evaluating the cotton CRC as a full entity generates maximum estimated potential economic benefits with a NPV of $1,067.2 million and a BCR of 7.8:I, yielding a marginal or incremental benefit (the difference between the NPV estimates for the with- and without- Cotton CRC scenarios) of $1,070. I million and an incremental BCR 6.8:I. Sensitivity-testing of key assumptions indicated that the results are the most sensitive to the assumptions regarding industry productivity growth, adoption ceiling and lag values. The overall result of the sensitivity analysis is that the positive benefit-cost outcomes of this evaluation of the Cotton CRC remain robust despite the large reductions in NPV and BCR values that can result from using parameter value assumptions that are significantly lower than those used in the base evaluation.

Oxygation - Enhancing Water & Nutrient Efficiency in Australian cotton

The CRDC $2000 to put towards attending the 42nd Beltwide Cotton Conference in San

Antonio, Texas, United States of America. During the conference between the 5- 9th April, 2004 I presented my current research "Soil saving practice reduces disruptive insecticides" in the PhD student section.

The cotton industry has faced challenging circumstances for several years and 2005–06 was no exception. Seasonal conditions added to the pressure of limited availability of irrigation water, with temperatures approximately ten per cent hotter than average and a number of regions experiencing their hottest season on record. Also adding to the impact was the continuation of below average cotton prices during 2005-06. Despite these constraints the latest forecast for the 2006 harvest is a crop of 2.6 million bales: some 600,000 bales higher than CRDC’s pre-season estimate and worth over $1 billion in export value. This remarkable achievement is due to a combination of factors, but reflects the resilience of a dynamic and innovative industry where growers are noted for their willingness to adopt the outcomes of research. With prudent budgeting and the use of reserves in recent years, CRDC has been able to maintain R&D investments at a level that underpins delivery of the outcomes sought in its Strategic Plan for 2003 to 2008. This plan focuses R&D effort into six key research programs: People and Knowledge, Integrated Natural Resource Management, Crop Protection, Farming Systems, Plant Breeding and Biotechnology and Value Chain. In early 2006 the Corporation, its industry stakeholder, the Australian Cotton Growers Research Association (ACGRA), and other key cotton industry and government personnel put R&D progress and outcomes against the Strategic Plan under the microscope. This review resulted in a range of updated priorities, which are being used to guide R&D investments for the coming year.

The Cotton Catchment Communities CRC company was incorporated on 20 September 2005 and beganformal operations on 1 October 2005. The elected Board had been meeting and planning since May 2005,in preparation for taking over the running of the CRC once all legal formalities and agreements had been finalised by the participants. The CRC was officially opened in November 2005 by the then Deputy Prime Minister, John Anderson MP. It has advanced rapidly since that time and currently has some 150 projects under way. The CRC has produced a Strategic Plan executive summary document, “Prosperity through Innovation”, which is intended to be a dynamic and regularly reviewed guide to the CRC’s activities. We have achieved a great deal in our first nine months of operations, including setting up and instituting new administration and research management systems, policies and charters. We have been actively fostering the integration of our many new partners into CRC and cotton industry activities and, with many of the CRC start up issues behind us, will aim to improve this in the next year. In the first year of the CRC, we have been focusing on getting our research projects under way. Looking ahead to the coming year, we will increase our focus and attention on adoption and extension strategies so that the CRC is well positioned to see its research outcomes bringing measurable benefits to the Australian cotton industry, its catchments and its communities. We will further consolidate and integrate our portfolio of projects. We will also review our operational plans and continue to consult with the cotton industry and other partners on R&D gaps and opportunities.

The cotton industry, agriculture and rural Australia as a whole continued to be affected by drought and the 2006–07 season saw the smallest area planted to cotton for 20 years. Looking back, cotton production has been less than 50 per cent of normal levels in three of the last five years, a situation made worse by low cotton prices in $A terms. Understandably, the impact of the current downturn is testing the resilience of a dynamic and innovative industry whose growers are noted for their willingness to adopt research outcomes. Given these circumstances, it is remarkable that the latest estimate of cotton produced in the 2007 harvest is 1.2 million bales of largely high quality cotton, which will contribute over $400 million to Australia’s exports and offset the economic impact of drought on cotton-related businesses and communities. It is also noteworthy that internationally the Australian cotton industry continued to be recognised as a leader in the sustainable production of cotton. The Corporation is, equally, not immune to the impacts of drought, which has meant a significant reduction in industry levies and Australian Government contributions. But given conservative budgeting, the benefit of financial reserves and prudent management of R&D expenditure, the Corporation has been able to maintain R&D investments at a level that underpins the delivery of the outcomes sought in the CRDC Strategic Plan 2003–08.