The current cotton industry IPM guidelines promote the use of predator/prey ratios when making pest management decisions. This involves assessing the numbers of key predators within the cotton crop. Many species of insects and spiders are known to feed on heliothis eggs and larvae, but few studies have quantified the contribution that each species makes in controlling heliothis in the field. Such studies are understandably difficult to undertake. It may, however, be worthwhile to give each potential species of predator a rating so that crop consultants and farmers do not waste time counting species of minor importance, and can focus on sampling those species that are most likely to feed on heliothis. The aim of this study was to evaluate predation of heliothis eggs in INGARD cotton planted adjacent to lablab, and to identify the key predatory species.

In a nutshell the answer to this question is profitability. Area Wide management (AWM) has worked very well on my farm. One of the reasons l know this is because of the bench marking used in Michael Boyce & Co comparative analysis. Our farm is continually in the top 20% for low growing costs and the top 20% for yields. Profit and sustainability is what really drives us all otherwise I wouldnt have kept going since 1978. Profit at the expense of sustainability is short sighted to say the least. AWM is a tool that helps to keep costs down and keep our farms sustainable. AWM is really well suited to Integrated Pest Management (hereafter called IPM)it should be remembered that IPM is not only about insect control it is about varietal selection, positioning of Ingard fields, trap cropping, nitrogen rates and timing maximising beneficials, product selection and evaluation. It is interesting to note that in 1999 -2000 the Macintyre Valley as a whole has had an average of 6 sprays on the conventional cotton and 1.5 sprays on INGARD. I know there is a lot of different reasons for this outcome but it must be noted that this was the first year that IPM and AWM have been widely used.

Interest in Area Wide Management is increasing within the Australian Cotton industry. The increasing costs of chemical control, coupled with increasing levels of resistance to conventional chemistry and an awareness of the potential impacts of sprays on the neighbouring environment have led many growers to consider new approaches to pest management. Area Wide Management (AWM) is an approach that acknowledges that pest and beneficial insects are mobile, and that the management regimes to control pests imposed on a given field are likely to alter the abundance of beneficial organisms and levels of insecticide resistance in the surrounding locality. By communicating and coordinating strategies, growers within an AWM group have better opportunities to implement PM strategies like those outlined in the Integrated Pest management Guidelines for Australian Cotton (Mensah and Wilson 1999). To assess the benefits of IPM implemented within an AWM group, we undertook an economic evaluation of cotton field productivity and profitability in relation to pest pressure. The work reported here examines the interaction between pest pressure and the associated spray programs. It provides supporting material for the economic evaluation presented in a separate paper in these proceedings by Ziaul Hoque et al (2000).

Alternative technologies for insect pest control are becoming increasingly important as a result of increasing insecticide resistance in the cotton pest Helicoverpa armigera the move towards ecologically sustainable agriculture. Two biotechnological approaches under investigation are insect resistant transgenic crops and insect viruses engineered for increased speed of kin. An important limiting factor for both approaches is the availability of efficacious insecticidal insert genes that can be inserted into the crop or virus. Juvenile hormone esterase (JHE) is an attractive candidate, especially for transgenic insect viruses. JHE acts to control juvenile hormone and hence is a key controller of metamorphosis and maturation of reproductive tissues in a range of invertebrates. A form of JHE specific for Iepidopterans has already been isolated and engineered into an insect virus, demonstrating insecticidal properties against Helicoverpa species. Infection of Iepidopteran larvae with a baculovirus engineered to produce a large increase in JHE causes a reduction in juvenile hormone level, leading to aberrant moults and the end of feeding behaviour. Here we describe a project that aims to isolate a more versatile JHE, which should be effective against a range of chewing and sucking pests.

Prior to the 1992-1993 cotton season, Australia was considered to be free from the fungal disease of cotton known as Fusarium wilt. The disease 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; Bentley et al these proceedings). These strains, described as Vegetative Compatibility Groups (VCGs) 01/11 and 01/12, have caused severe losses to cotton production in Australia, particularly in susceptible varieties. Fov is now considered by many growers, ginners, consultants and other industry personnel as the most important constraint to sustainable cotton production in Australia to have developed in recent years

The use of strip crops planted beside, or near, cotton is being promoted as part of the cotton industry's' integrated pest management (lPM) guidelines. Strip crops may be used to act as a trap crop for heliothis (Helicoverpa spp.), or as a nursery for beneficial insects and spiders. Chickpea has been used as a spring trap crop for heliothis, and Iucerne has been used as a summer trap for green minds and a nursery for beneficials. To date summer trap crops for heliothis have not been widely tested on the Darling Downs. Lablab (Labiab purpureus) has been proposed as a trap crop for heliothis because it is hardier than Iuceme and may be better suited to dryland regions. In addition to attracting heliothis, lablab may act as a nursery for beneficial insects and spiders. While chickpea is highly attractive to heliothis, it is not attractive to a very important group of beneficial insects - wasp parasitoids. The heliothis egg parasitoid Trichogramma and the larval parasitoid Microplitis are rarely found in chickpea. This is unfortunate, because chickpea trap crops could potentially generate millions of these useful wasps that could move into subsequent summer crops. However, lablab may act as a nursery for beneficial arthropods (including parasitic wasps) that may move into cotton and attack some pests, including heliothis. The aim of this study was to evaluate lablab as a trap crop for heliothis, and as a nursery crop for beneficial insects and spiders.

As the uptake of the Round Bale (RB) picking system has been widespread and rapid it is not a matter of whether or not the industry should adopt this technology rather a process of determining its impacts evaluating impacts against previous harvesting systems and developing strategies to optimise operating performance.

As new insecticides for cotton pests are developed, it is important that the cotton industry has its own independent assessment of their effect on beneficial fauna. This research allows an understanding of the role and fit of new products in integrated pest management. At the same time existing products are being advanced with lower rates (half and quarter) being trailed as a means of reducing a product's impact on beneficials while still achieving satisfactory pest control. Here we detail the effects of new and existing products on some common beneficial arthropods and pests in cotton, using a common industry standard product for comparison.

The silverleaf whitefly (SLW), Bemisia tabaci B-biotype was first discovered in Australia in 1994 (Gunning et al , 1995). This biotype is a major pest of cotton and other crops in many overseas counties and is a considerable threat to cotton in Australia. Another indigenous biotype of B. tabaci (IBW), that is not considered a pest, is common in Queensland. This paper reports the results of sampling for these biotypes in the cotton areas of Queensland during the past two years'

Endosulfan has proved to be a cheap and efficacious insecticide. It provides ongoing value in the protection of conventional and transgenic cotton crops against Heliothis and other Insect pests. However, endosulfan has been associated in the past with off-site residue problems that threaten its ongoing registration. There are two primary areas of concern in this regard. The first of these is with respect to environmental impacts of endosulfan contamination of downstream waterways. The second centres on concerns regarding endosulfan residues identified in locally grown beef through consumption of contamination of pastures. The cotton industry has responded to the concerns surrounding endosulfan usage by developing and achieving widespread adoption of Best Management Practices for Minimising the Impact of Pesticides. Whilst these practices should reduce the risk, the seriousness of the concern with respect to the two issues identified above requires development of mechanisms to directly address contamination. Many of the problems with endosulfan residues would be avoided if water at risk could be quickly decontaminated. This could be achieved by on-farm bioremediation of tail water with specialised enzymes (proteins that catalyse chemical reactions). This paper describes early progress in a CRDC and CRC supported CSIRO project that is working towards this goal. A more detailed description of this work will appear in Sutherland et al , 2000a, b (I, 2).