The increasing difficulty of controlling cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera, in Australia due to its resistance to many chemical insecticides and the pressure to reduce the usage of chemicals led to the adoption of transgenic cotton as the key component of its pest control strategy by the Australian cotton industry. The commercial varieties available to date are based on the INGARD@ technology and contain an insecticidal protein (Cry1Ac) which was obtained from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). As INGARD@ varieties contain only one insecticidal protein, growers and researchers were concerned that cotton bollworm might become resistant to the transgenic cotton. At the inception of the project, resistance to the insecticidal proteins had not yet been demonstrated for any cotton pests. However, we were aware that the diamondback moth had become highly resistant to Bt sprays in many parts of the world. Subsequently, some 26 species of insect pests, including Heliothis virescens, have shown the ability to develop substantial resistance to Bt proteins. The naturally high tolerance of H. armigera for the Cry1Ac protein produced by INGARD and the decline in insecticidal activity through the latter part of the season (Fitt, 1998) suggest that inappropriate usage could well lead to INGARD@ losing its ability to prevent H. armigera damage. Consequently, the CRDC and CSIRO funded a project to investigate the potential for cotton bollworm to develop resistance to transgenic cotton and evaluation of the consequences of such resistance.

Pumps are simple machines that turn pump shaft rotational speed and torque into fluid energy in the form of elevation, velocity and pressure energies. The efficiency with which they complete this energy conversion gives rise to the important pump performance measure, pump efficiency. Pump efficiency is an inherent characteristic of any particular pump design, and is greatly influenced by the shapes of impellers and volutes (enclosure) and physical clearances between these two components.

Cotton production in Australia occurs mainly in cracking clay soils. In the past, it was widely assumed that deep drainage was negligible in these soils (Hearn, 2000). Recently, however, several researchers have contradicted this view. Deep drainage rates between 9 and 146mm/yr, nitrate and chloride fluxes of 227 and 3272 kg/ha/yr, respectively, have been reported from southern Queensland and my New South Wales(Moss et al 1999; Zischke and Gordon, 2000). Willis and Black (1996) reporting from central-western New South Wales observed that deep drainage was 17 mm/yr when a soil had 53% clay, whereas when it had 35% clay drainage increased to 202 mm/yr. These soils tended to have shallow water tables, and they suggested that drainage and Ieaching of salts from the profile could increase the salinity and decrease the depth to the watertable, with associated capillary rise resulting in salinization of productive soils

The cotton whitefly Bemisia tabaci is a serious pest of fibre, horticultural and ornamental crops world wide. When present in sufficient numbers, it can cause extensive damage through direct feeding, the production of large quantities of honeydew and as a vector of many viruses. Australia has a native strain of Bemisia tabaci. but in 1994, recently, a new biotype, known as the B-type or poinsettia strain was found in Australia. Overseas, B-type B. tabaci is a primary pest on cotton, vegetable crops (curcubits, tomatoes, rock melons) and ornamentals. This strain is extremely virulent, highly insecticide resistant, adapts to temperate climates and has a host range of over 500 plants. A nation-wide survey has now shown that this whitefly is widely distributed over eastern Queensland and NSW and the Darwin area of the NT .

Resistance is an ongoing concern with the management of Helicoverpa armigera in the Australian cotton industry. In response, resistance management strategies (RMS) are in place to either prevent, or retard further development of, resistance to either chemical insecticides or to the Cry1Ac protein in transgenic plants. While these strategies have been successful at slowing down the rate at which resistance has developed to insecticides, they have neither prevented the ultimate spread of resistance to most field populations nor the evolution of new mechanisms of resistance that make resistance increasingly difficult to manage. RMS are built on knowledge of the genetics of resistance and ecology of insects. Where knowledge is lacking we make assumptions about resistance based on general theories of how new genes evolve in populations. Our work with Bt resistance aims to test these assumptions so that we can refine or validate our knowledge and theories. In this way, we can devise strategies for the cotton industry that work, and do so at minimal cost to the grower.

This guide shows some of the more typical damage symptoms seen in Australian cotton from exposure to a range of herbicides. Images were obtained from experiments where known rates of herbicide were applied to irrigated cotton at specific growth stages. The symptoms of herbicide damage displayed by cotton plants are affected by the type of herbicide, the herbicide rate, the crop growth stage, and environmental factors such as soil moisture, temperature and humidity. Under different conditions, crops may not display the symptoms of damage indicated in these photos.

The apple dimpling bug (ADB), Campylomma liebknechti (Girault) is a sucking insect indigenous to Australia. The insect has been recorded on cotton crops in all cotton growing areas in Australia, but its pest status is not fully understood (Bishop, 1980). Adams and Pyke (1982) and Chinajariyawong and Water (1990) has reported cotton square loss associated with ADB infestations. ADB has also been observed feeding on the eggs of two spotted mites in the cotton field (Wilson et al. 1998). Khan and Mensah (1998) also reported that, provision of Helicoverpa eggs to ADB females increased their fecundity and nymphal development. Some cotton growers and consultants consider ADB as cotton pest and therefore control them with synthetic insecticides when numbers exceed current CottonLOGIC threshold. Others especially those practising IPM sees ADB as a beneficial insect. The pest and predator status of ADB, therefore, has brought jinxed conceptions about the true status of this insect in the cotton production system. This mixed attitude towards ADB, shows that there is a substantial gap in our knowledge of the ecology, biology and pest status of this insect. We have undertaken detail studies of the basic biology, behaviour, dynamics and pest status of ADB so that the true status of the insect can be clarified and also made, where appropriately suggestions as to measures required to manage this insect in the cotton system. This paper, reports some aspects of the life cycle, sources of ADB to cotton fields, sampling, economic thresholds and seasonal phenology of ADB. In addition, we have investigated the predator status of ADB in relation to Helicoverpa spp. eggs on cotton crops.

In Australia, premature senescence (PS) is occurring with increasing frequency in cotton crops on soils with high levels of available K. However, by the time PS is noticed, it is generally too late to take corrective measures and the use of plant tissue testing as a diagnostic tool has not been widely successful in predicting K deficiency (Kirby and Atoms, 1985). Therefore, it is important to detect beforehand susceptible crops, so that timely action can be taken

An energy assessment establishes energy saving opportunities. Measuring (or estimating) energy use enables comparison with industry benchmarks and, in turn, identifies high energy use areas. Reducing energy use is both profitable and environmentally beneficial.

The add and semi-add regions of the world are being relied upon to provide increasing amounts of agricultural products. This is being facilitated by the increasing dependence on irrigation. In many cases irrigation inefficiency has led to water loss through deep drainage (DD) and groundwater recharge. In the irrigated cotton-growing areas of southeast Queensland and north western New South Wales, irrigation efficiency is increasingly becoming an important natural resource management issue because of the increasing number of instances where perched water tables are causing problems with respect to water logging and in isolated instances soil salinisation (Triantafilis et al 2002).