The spring edition of CRDC's magazine, Spotlight, takes an indepth look at crop nutrition and disease in preparation for the 2019-20 cotton season. In it, we investigate the results from the More Profit from Nitrogen project, led by CRDC under the Department of Agriculture’s Rural R&D for Profit program, which has provided growers with a greater understanding of how to reduce inputs and increase efficacy. We also look at verticillium wilt and the projects CRDC is investing in to better understand the pathogen, how to predict inoculum levels in the soil and how to manage it - and recognise Dr Linda Smith, the well-deserved recipient of the 2019 CSD Researcher of the Year, for the significant body of work she has undertaken in this area.

In this edition, we also feature several key events focused on innovation and technology, including evokeAG and the Australian Agriculture Immersive Technology Conference where the future of ag was on show. We also welcome new partnerships to take agtech to the field, with the commercialisation of canopy temperature sensors, in which CRDC has been a long-term investor.

As growers try to preserve soil moisture, and many fields sitting fallow, attention also turns to weed control and management of herbicide resistance. The Crop Consultants Australia have some sage advice for us all in their regular column, which is fully backed by our research and industry initiatives to bring this issue to the fore. CRDC has invested heavily in resistance research and we will continue to report on these results as they come to hand. In this issue we feature windmill grass and the evolution of resistance, which will lead us to better management through understanding.

Abstract of Weed resistance risk management in glyphosate resistant cotton final report

Early season thrips present a challenge to pest management decision makers. While nymphs and adults cause early season damage to terminals, leaves, buds and stems, they

are beneficial as a key predator of spider-mite eggs, especially later in the season and have

proven to delay the development of mite outbreaks in cotton.

The growth of grain legumes into Australian farming systems has been increasing in the 1980’s. Part of their value in crop rotations is their ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen in symbiosis with Rhizobium. This may decrease the need for nitrogen fertilizer for crop following the legume crop. This is because some of the fixed nitrogen may be left in the legume crop residue after grain harvest and thus become available to the following crop. Subsequently legumes have a reputation of maintaining or increasing soil nitrogen status.

Many management practices of the farmer will influence the amount of nitrogen fixed by the grain legume crop and thus the amount left for the following crop. Practices like ground preparation, inoculation, fertiliser usage, irrigation and crop residue management all affect the amount of nitrogen fixed and left by the legume crop. The following review covers these and other management practices. As well, certain biological aspects of nitrogen fixation are discussed giving background to the effects of management practices

Project to assess the role of wet season cover crops and minimum tillage systems in facilitating early sowing of cotton in the Ord River Irrigation Area.LR 1.1

A survey form asking the cost of weed control, the major weed problems and the herbicides used was sent to fifty two cotton growers from the seven major cotton areas of New South Wales. On average, weed control costs the cotton grower $187/ha annually. The major components of this cost are $761ha for herbicides in cotton and $671ha for hand chipping. The most important cotton weeds are noogoora burr, Bathurst burr, nutgrass, Chinese lantern and peach vine. Although these weeds are problems on a large proportion of the cotton growing area, repeated use of herbicides, cultivation and chipping are reducing their importance. However, nutgrass, which is a major weed problem on 15% of the cotton area, is escaping the weed management practices currently used and is rapidly spreading in many fields. Brown beetle grass is an important weed on irrigation channels and is not controlled by the registered herbicides. Trifluralin, diuron and fluometuron herbicides are used in cotton by over 60% of cotton growers. Glyphosate is used by 59% of growers in tallows before cotton, and atrazine, diuron alld glyphosate are used by over 60% of growers to control weeds on irrigation channels.

CRDC's Annual Operating Plan for 2007–08 (AOP): the

fifth (and final) annual operating plan under the CRDC's Strategic R&D Plan 2003–2008.

CRDC's Annual Operating Plan for 2010–11 (AOP): the third annual operating plan under the CRDC's Strategic R&D Plan 2008–2013.

CRDC's Annual Operating Plan for 2005–06 (AOP): the third annual operating plan under the CRDC's Strategic R&D Plan 2003–2008.

This project has part funded field operation costs charged by DPI to CSIRO for experiments on ACRI at Narrabri. More than 21 projects have been supported over the three years and all field operations have been done well through collaboration within CSIRO and between CSIRO and NSW DPI.

CSIRO field research has addressed all important areas for yield and sustainability: breeding, disease resistance, soil and water management and insect management. Results of that research have substantially improved industry performance and value. Cotton breeding and decision support systems have been estimated to have added $5.2 to regional economies in the past 20 years. IPM research (by all research organisations) has been successful in substantially reducing the volume of insecticide used on cotton.