This ute guide can assist consultants and growers correctly identify their pest and beneficial insects and creates awareness of the role that native vegetation can play in IPM. Ultimately this information supports responsible pest management decision making.

Growers in the Walgett Cotton Growers Association(CGA) have shown ongoing interest in ensuring that they are at the forefront of new technologies and ideas. The growers have become very good at managing their resources and utilising them to the fullest extent possible and are always challenging themselves to continue on this path. They wish to further investigate alternative irrigation layouts, infrastructure and other changes to their farm operations that will provide positive economic, social and environmental outcomes for their farms and the region

In addition, having suffered variable seasons in recent times they also need to be able to see and talk to other growers that may be able to assist them with coping better with these wild fluctuations.

Due to the current dry conditions and little or no cotton this summer in the Walgett CGA, the CGA has determined that to maintain interest by growers in the region that a trip to the Southern Valleys will provide them with new ideas/ technologies, increase the networking between growers and grow their skills and knowledge.

A field trip was organised to take growers south. Our first get together with the growers in the south was at a growers meeting at Southern Cotton and we where able to meet many growers and get an understanding of the issues that they face in particular in regard to water, soils and pest and disease issues. Of particular interest was how they had progressed from rice to cotton and how that now fitted into their rotations. They are very adaptive growers and are willing to look at many options. This provided us with insights into how we may have to look even further afield to help manage and make changes to our operations in the north.

In 2012-13, Australian cotton growers and the Government, through CRDC, invested $19 million in research and development to benefit the Australian cotton industry. Major highlights for the organisation during this year include the completion of the industry’s third environmental assessment (demonstrating major improvements in water use, chemical and natural resource management); launching a joint industry extension program, CottonInfo, with partners Cotton Australia and Cotton Seed Distributors to deliver research outcomes to growers; and securing a $3.3 million grant (in partnership with other applicants) under the Government’s Clean Energy Future Plan to help tackle climate variability.

These, and the many other achievements for the CRDC during this year, are outlined in the Report.

The cotton industry and other investors have spent millions of dollars on ‘water balance’

related research over the past two decades. While soil water balance models can be used

today to answer critical questions affecting the industry, little of this water balance

research has been fully captured or insufficient data are available to model these sites. A

lack of basic soil physical data limits the use of water balance models across many areas of

the cotton industry.

Models are commonly used as decision support tools in agriculture. This project captured

data from various past and current studies of water balance and deep drainage under

irrigation in N NSW and Qld in a form useful for modelling, and ‘filled in’ some to the

gaps with additional soil hydraulic measurements at key sites. These data were used to

test the models, derive parameters, enhance understanding and so provide insights across

landscapes and over longer time periods, especially in CRC groundwater/catchment

modelling studies.

Electromagnetic Induction (EM38) technology (with depth slicing) was developed and

used throughout a cotton growing season to monitor soil water at a range of depths and

provided input to the model HowLeaky (Mills et al. 2008). The data agreed to a large

degree with the model, which estimated that during two periods in the season, a

significant amount of deep drainage occurred (100 mm). This is of concern both in terms

of wasting water and potential groundwater recharge.

Geophysical surveys and deep soil coring were taken in both irrigated and uncleared

landscapes throughout the Condamine (co-funded by Condamine Alliance) and Border

Alluvia (co-funded by Border-Gwydir CMA), to define the moisture status below the root

zone. That is, is there a moisture deficit buffer which can store increased deep drainage

from irrigation or is the regolith nearly full? Transects imaged across naturally vegetated

landscapes into irrigated paddocks found all soils under native vegetation to be very dry

(low conductivity) even when only sparsely populated by trees. In contrast, significant

long-term migration of water has occurred to deep within the regolith (up to 15 m) in

most irrigated paddocks. A wet (close to saturated) zone was found in the upper 6 m of

soil in the irrigated paddocks. The imaging results confirmed that the unsaturated zone is

filled to near saturation under all irrigated sites and remains very dry under all native

vegetation sites. Deep coring has also be used at a number of sites to collect data to

improve geophysics model parameterisation for clay soils, so that resistivity imaging can

be used with more confidence in the future to estimate the amount of water to deep in the

soil regolith.

Finally, a monitoring bore network was installed across the Border-Moonie catchments to

allow continued observation of groundwater behaviour in irrigated and dryland areas.

This area was found to have a high potential risk of future salinity problems but had little

monitoring installed. A “20-point plan” was developed and has been funded in stages by

NRM Regional Bodies (QMDC & Border-Gwydir CMA) and DERM.

Assessing changes in resource conditions is seen as an essential element for evaluating the impact of public and private investment in natural resource management(NRM) outcomes. Some observers suggest there is little to show in terms of improved natural resource condition for investment over the last 20+ years. In the language of NAPSWQ and NHT, the link between management action targets(MAT's) with time frames of 1-5 years and with 10-20 year timeframe has apparently not been made with sufficient rigor to convince policy makers of the value of NRM investment.

Agricultural industries are also keen to demonstrate their environmental credentials given they often feel targeted as the perpetrator of environmental harm in some debates despite significant individual and collective investment in developing and applying more sustainable practises.

This paper offers some observations and suggestions to progress the discussion on how to better access changes in natural resource conditions that are within the capacity of industry and regional NRM groups(the later are generally referred to as NRM Regional bodies or Catchment Management Authorities(CMA's))

The 2017-18 CRDC Researchers' Handbook is a key resource for all researchers working with, or interested in applying for funding from, the CRDC. Updated annually, the Handbook outlines the key information researchers need to know, including key dates, the application process, funding and stipends available, the payment, evaluation and reporting processes and the CRDC’s intellectual property policy. These, and other critical details needed by researchers are provided in the Handbook.

In eastern Australia, Vettosols are widely utilised for the production of irrigated cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) due to their inherent fertility and large water-holding capacity. However, irrigated

agriculture in eastern Australia is faced with a decline in the availability of good quality irrigation

water sources with low electrolyte concentrations and small Na' contributions.

Consequenrly, alternative water resources that contain larger contributions of Na are becoming

increasingly relevant as potential irrigation sources. It is known that the application of Na rich

waters as irrigation has the potential to increase the Na content of the soil, and that this will affect

the structural condition of Vertosols. However, the extent to which these poor quality water

resources will influence the structural characteristics of different Vertosols is unknown. In addition

to this knowledge gap, there is currently no suitable predictor of dispersive behaviour for this soil

type, particularly where Vertosols are irrigated with different water quality solutions.

The research conducted this study aimed to characterise the impact of different increments of

water quality on the structural stability of different Vertosols. Once this was concluded, the study

looked to assess the impact of irrigation water quality on the structural stability, structural form and

soil water retention properties of intact soil columns. knowledge of the structural stability of the

soils investigated was then used to derive a model describing the impact of water quality on the

structural stability of different cotton producing soils.

Dr Om P. Jhorar, Plant Pathologist at Narrabri NSW 2390 attended Pre-conference workshop at Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand, 8th International Congress of Plant Pathology, Australasian Plant Pathology Society Biennial General Meeting and Plant Health Australia Workshop “Developing a World Class Plant Pathology Diagnostic Network”

Outcome:

New strategies planned to manage black root rot and other interactive pathogens were developed from the meeting and these will be tested in a new project (submitted to CRDC). These strategies are:

• Initiate trials including Thermal-biodisinfestation of the soil using large volumes of biofumigation crops decomposed under clear polyethylene sheets over a period of three to four weeks to reduce T. basicola spore population and study its impact on other seedling diseases.

• Initiate the process of importing the seed of new biofumigating agent that may help reverse the soil borne pathogens of cotton seedling diseases including T. basicola.

• Initiate trials on managing black root rot of cotton in accordance to Rhizoctonia, Pythium and Fov.

Outputs:

• One poster presentation.

• Three discussion participation.

• Initiation of new experiments to meet current and future challenges

The paper 'Detection, persistence and control of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. vasinifectum in cotton seed

in Australia', presented at the colloquium, was successful in providing factual information to USA

researchers on the management options that would minimize the risk of the two Australian strains being

introduced into the USA on export fuzzy cottonseed or on planting seed. A paper presented by Dr A

Bell corroborated some of the results presented, particularly that the fungus does riot survive in stored

productfor more than six months. This can be used in negotiations with USA officials should the matter

of Australian isolates be raised again.

The research commenced in the USA on characterisation of US isolates of the Fusarium wilt, following collaboration with the QDPl, indicates a greater diversity of the pathogen in the USA than previously

recognised. Should isolates with similar characterlstics to the Australian isolates be found in the USA

then proposed quarantine restrictions on imports should riot apply. The QDPl fusarium wilt research

team should continue to collaborate with Drs Colyer and Davis during their survey of the pathogen in

the USA.

Dr Kochman also obtained information on a new insect resistance gene that has been patented by

Syngenta. The gene produces an exotoxin that has been called the Vegetative insecticidal protein (Vip)

and is unlike current Bacillus thuringiensis derived proteins in transgenic cotton varieties. This

information has been passed onto QDPl entomologists. The gene is currently carried in Coker 312.

This variety is very susceptible to Fusarium wilt. To date combination of this gene with the two Bt genes

currently available has apparently been prohibited by Monsanto (according to Syngenta staff at the

conference).

Research, Development and Extension funding, has traditionally utilised the extension arm (Cotton Industry Development Officers) within the industry to deliver and be responsible for both extension and training activities. To date, this has been an effective form of delivery. This training extension format strives to regionalise the adoption of innovative technology and empower producers to solve their own local issues through facilitated learning. The adoption of the innovative technology or practice change, uses either, or in many cases both, the local extension officers and/or researchers to create adoption. As a generalisation, some extension activities can be classed as a form of training as they impart knowledge and facilitate management change through active learning methods