Water Use Efficiency WUE) means maximising the returns from and minimising the environmental impacts of every megalitre (ML) of water used for irrigation purposes. Improved WUE therefore can result in a range of outcomes including reducing overall water usage, growing more hectares, producing higher yields and/or better quality produce and reducing any negative impacts that may be occurring through excessive drainage, poor water quality etc. Failing to measure and manage WUE at the farm and field level can compromise the economic and environmental sustainability of irrigated fanning.

Fusarium wilt of cotton, which is caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp vasinfectum (Fov) is a relatively new disease in Australia. The devastating nature of the disease and the lack of effective control measures are causing serious concern in the industry. There are now only four Australian cotton-growing areas that have not yet recorded the disease. The Australian Cotton Industry is making a concerted effort to minimise further spread of Fov. The different measures include keeping farm machinery and vehicles free from crop debris and soil, retaining irrigation run-off water on the farm and avoiding spillage of cotton during transport from the farm the processing facility. Any stress on the plant, for example water logging, appear to exacerbate the disease. There are no cotton varieties in Australia with complete resistance to Fusarium wilt. The varieties are usually divided into three susceptibility groups- least, moderately and most susceptible. Even the least susceptible varieties appear to be very susceptible in the seedling stage. The current recommendations for managing the disease include using the least susceptible varieties, retention of crop residues on the surface for as long as possible after harvest, increased seed rate by up to 30%, control of weeds that host the pathogen and farm hygiene. The use of bio control agents is another tactic that can be included in this package.

A comprehensive testing program of conventional large mixed flow pumps typically used on cotton irrigation farms has found that these pumps, if correctly tuned, can operate at high efficiency levels with reduced energy costs and lower carbon emissions. This fact sheet outlines the findings of the testing from NCEA.

This benchmarking report presents direct energy data (diesel and electricity use) collected on irrigated Australian cotton farms. The outcomes from this benchmarking study clearly highlight that there are opportunities for growers to identify practices where energy consumption is high, and implement strategies to reduce direct energy use on farm.

Gin trash and mixtures of gin trash were composted using a minimum of equipment and labour inputs. Questions of cotton pathogens and synthetic chemical residues were addressed by lab testing pre- and post- composting. Guidelines were developed for overcoming practical problems with wetting the trash initially, handling the trash so that all was heat treated for long enough, determining the time to end composting, and how to use the compost

Cotton Bunchy Top (CBT), a relatively new disease, was first observed by growers in Australian cotton fields in the 1998-99 cotton-growing season. The disease has since been reported across New South Wales and Queensland, from the Macquarie Valley in the south to the Emerald region in the north. CBT is suspected to be spread by the cotton aphid (Aphis gossypii, Glover). Symptoms of CBT include reduced plant height, leaf surface area, petiole length and internodes length. Pale, angular patterns on the leaf margins are often observed with the remainder of the leaf blade usually dark green in colour. These darker leaves have a leathery and sometimes glossy texture when compared to healthy control plants. Typically, the pale angular patches in field-grown cotton turn red as leaves age. Boll development is also affected, with bolls often less than half the size of healthy bolls.

The current water debate is centred on the water reform initiatives being developed and implemented in each state. In NSW and Queensland the water reforms are being strongly influenced by COAG requirements and the introduction of the Murray-Darling 'cap' on water use, both of which were adopted in 1995. The genesis of these can be attributed to the influence of economic rationalism, the 1992 Rio de Janeiro Agenda 21 declarations and the Barwon-Darling blue green algae outbreak of 1992. At the same time the influence of the globalisation of knowledge resulting from the communication revolution, better informed and organised pressure groups, community participation and the way the media tends to use conflict based reporting, cannot be ignored. The government agencies now involved in the water debate are significantly different to those of 10 or more years ago. Also for the cotton industry in part of Queensland the influence of integrated basin management has played an important role. Until the mid-1990's, when Queensland joined the MDBC it never saw it had a role or interest in Murray-Darling basin management. In fact some say that Queensland is still a reluctant participant in MDBC initiatives. Nowadays water management is not solely a valley issue, it must be placed within a basin context, and outcomes can be influenced by basin factors. The factors influencing tile water debate and changes in the water industry and water management will not diminish in the short term. The cotton industry will need to adapt to these changes, whilst continuing to adapt to other changing factors within its business.

Room (1979) had recognised that a hand-held computer-compatible device for recording data in the field would increase the value of SERATAC. The idea was revisited twice daring the SERATAC era. Final development of a product was delayed to lack of resources, and because the devices were cumbersome, expensive, task-specific and individually soon obsolete, while the software was device-specific and difficult to program (Hearn and Bange 2002). Advancements in computer technology over the past few years, with strong support from industry have enabled the original vision to become reality with the release of the first version of CottonLOGIC for Palm OS@ Handhelds. It has been developed by the CSRO/Cotton CRC cotton management support systems team at Narrabri, with the help of an in-field evaluation team, comprising of cotton pest managers from various regions. This paper presents details of the operation of CottonLOGIC for Palm OS handheld systems, and discusses issues resulting from field and independent evaluation.

To the question Is Australian raw cotton or cottonseed oil genetically modifiedΓ' The answer is 'emphatically, NO! No biotechnology resulting in, or even influencing, the production of genetically modified fibre or oil, is registered for use in Australia. Research progress suggests that it will be many years before any such technology could be successfully registered in Australia.

Fusarium wilt of cotton was first identified on the Darling Downs in Queensland almost 10 years ago in March 1993. This destructive disease of cotton is caused by a soil-inhabiting fungus, Fusarium oxysporum f.sp Vasinfectum (Fov), and two different strains of the causal pathogen have since been described in Australia (Kochman, 1995; Davis et al 1996; Kochman, et al. 1998). The two different genotypes (strains) identified amongst the Australian isolates of Fov corresponded to Vegetative Compatibility Groups (VCGs) 01/11 and 01/12. At present, each of these strains appears to be equally capable of causing disease in the current commercial varieties in Australia, but this may not be the case with new varieties in the future. The two Australian genotypes are distinct from all overseas strains of Fov and the other species of Fusarium examined thus far. The disease has been found in new areas every season since 1993. During the 2001/2002 season, new recordings of Fov were confirmed in the Brewarrina (NSW) district and in Pima cotton at Bourke. Pima cotton was also devastated by the disease in the trials at &quote;Cowan&quote; near Cecil Plains in Queensland. The disease was identified on more farms at Brookstead, Dalby, Goondiwindi, Toobeah, St George and Theodore in Queensland as well as Moree, Bourke, Carroll and Warren in New South Wales. No records of Fov have yet been made from the production areas of Emerald in Queensland, Tandou or Hillston in New South Wales or in Western Australia. No new strains of Fov have been identified amongst the specimens received to date.