The cost of researching the causes, effects and control of algal blooms is considerable and the government and community have already invested heavily in understanding this significant environmental and water quality issue that affects most of Australia. The National Eutrophication Management Program (NEMP) commissioned a report to identify the principal water users affected by freshwater algal blooms and to quantify the direct and indirect costs of these blooms.

Flooding across many cotton growing valleys has had a significant impact on cotton growth. With the flooding coming at such a late stage in cotton development this document likely impacts and management options available for growers and consultants.

Cotton production in Australia is a high-value industry with about 90% of fibre produced being exported to Asia, primarily to Indonesia. One aspect of modem cotton production is the heavy usage of insecticide sprays to combat Helicoverpa insects. The high cost of sprays and the public view of the industry regarding its perceived impact on the environment have led to the development of integrated pest management (IPM) strategies. The evaluation of insecticide resistance in pest populations has also prompted the development of insecticide resistance management (IRM) strategies. The aim of the work reported here is to improve the understanding and adoption of such strategies by cotton growers. A simple bio-economic assessment of alternative IPM strategies is presented. A farm-level dataset is used to conduct an analysis of alternative spray options. Data collected over 2 years (1998/99 and 1999/2000 seasons) from a set of contiguous cotton properties in north west NSW are analysed in the paper. The factors considered include farm inputs (sprays and costs), outputs (cotton yields) and financial returns (Gross Margins (GM)). Cotton properties and paddocks are categorised according to the numbers and types of sprays (termed Hard and Soft spray strategies) used on INGARD' and conventional cotton crops. The analysis is relatively simple approach that nevertheless provides some useful initial information and comparisons. It is the first stage of a project evaluating the potential economic returns to alternative IPM and IRM strategies for the Australian cotton industry

One of the major objectives of the cotton industry is to reduce dependence on insecticides. This may be achieved by incorporating parasitoids into the pest management strategy. Parasitoids are wasps or flies that "attack" other insects. The "attack" means that the parasitic wasp or fly lays an egg inside the eggs, larvae or pupae of a host insect (i. e. Helicoverpa spp. ). Once the egg of the wasps or fly hatches, it feeds on the internal organs of the host species (i. e. Helicoverpa eggs, larvae or pupae) eventually killing it. The eggs, larvae and pupae of Helicoverpa are attacked by several native parasitoids that rely on Helicoverpa for survival. In order to place greater reliance on parasitoids for Helicoverpa spp. control we need to understand how to increase parasitoids abundance in cotton.

Talstar (bifenthrin) was registered at the beginning of the 1993/94 season for control of Helicoverpa spp. and two-spotted mite in Australian cotton. Resistance to this compound in two-spotted mite was monitored following registration. Incipient Talstar resistance was detected in one strain of two-spotted mite during the 1996/97 cotton season. Resistance increased progressively both in level and abundance over the following two seasons. Resistance in two-spotted mite has now reduced the reliability of Talstar for two-spotted mite control in Australian cotton.

Sustainability in any farming system is dependent upon a number of interacting factors which include climate, soil quality, plant nutrition, management, weed and disease incidence, and economic factors. In cotton-based fanning systems it has been assumed that a "sustainable" system is represented by a cotton-rotation crop sequence, whereas a "degradative" system is exemplified by continuous cotton (Cooper 1999). As a consequence many cotton growers sow rotation crops after irrigated cotton assuming that they will improve soil quality, minimize disease incidence and maintain profitability of cotton (Cooper 1999). The crop most commonly sown in rotation with cotton is wheat, although legumes such as dolichos, faba bean and chickpea have become more popular in recent years (Cooper 1999). Although past research has addressed issues such as soil structure, nitrogen and water use (MCGarity et al 1984; Constable et al. 1992), information on the comparative advantages and disadvantages of a range of rotation crops, and the sustainability of such crop sequences over extended periods has been limited. Several long-term on-farm experiments were, therefore, established during 1993 in New South Wales and Queensland to evaluate the sustainability of selected rotation crop-cotton sequences with issues such as soil quality (physical, chemical and biological), weeds and disease incidence, cotton agronomy and economic benefits receiving a high priority (CRC for Sustainable Cotton Production 1994). The objective of the study reported in this paper was to quantify the changes in soil quality, cotton lint yield and profitability from 1993 to 1999 of six irrigated cotton-rotation crop sequences sown in a sodic grey clay in Merah North, NW NSW. Crop sequences were selected following discussions with local cotton growers. The indices used to evaluate sustainability included soil quality, soil microbiology and disease incidence, yield and profitability. This paper presents data on soil properties (soil organic C, structure as air-filled porosity of oven-dried soil, eXchangeable Ca, Mg, K and Na, pH, electrical conductivity (EC) and EC /exchangeable Na in the 0-0.6 in depth), lint yield and profitability (as gross margins/ha and gross margins/ML of irrigation water).

A pump efficiency trial at Goondiwindi has highlighted the importance of testing individual pumping set-ups to identify the optimum operating point to achieve maximum efficiency.

Over recent decades the extractive use of water in Australia has dramatically increased, leading to greater agricultural production and, in many instances, to the degradation of riverine ecosystems, loss of productive land and impacts on water quality and biodiversity. In response, Australian governments' are progressing a range of water policy reforms, with recent inter-governmental agreements committing in excess of $1b to enhancing flows and environmental outcomes along the Snowy and Murray Rivers.

Evaluation Form for Integrated catchment Management

The project examined the suitability of Canada's Ecotrust 'conservation economy' model for enhancing sustainable development in rural and remote Indigenous communities in Australia. Three community case studies and a broad regional case study were undertaken to ensure the research was grounded in remote Indigenous peoples' experiences.