One of the key challenges growers have when they have water for a limited number of irrigations is confidently knowing when to use this water to optimise yield, quality and water use efficiency. Irrigation timing is critical to minimise negative impacts on yield and fibre quality. New Research is underway to develop irrigation strategies for cotton in a limited water situation and with various row configurations (e.g. solid, single skip row and 2m, 80 inch, 1 in 1 out)

Early planting poses some risk in cool regions resulting in re-planting if cold days or frost occur after emergence. So the question is, will oxodegradable thin plastic film increase soil temperature and conserve seedbed moisture potentially reducing the risk in early planting, while not compromising lint yield and fibre quality of cotton?

Micronaire is a measure of fibre linear density (fineness) and maturity. Factors affecting supply and partitioning of photosynthetic assimilates to fruit affect micronaire. High micronaire occurs when there are good growing conditions and/or fruit number is low. Conversely low micronaire occurs when growing conditions are poor and/or fruit number is high. Little research has established the degree of impact of factors influencing micronaire, so field experiments were conducted to investigate effects of planting date; cultivar; canopy manipulation; and fruit number

With rogue cotton becoming a seemingly common sight along roadways and drainage lines a survey was conducted throughout Queensland and parts of northern New South Wales covering over 13,000km of roads and drainage ways to gauge the extent of the problem. During the survey plants were geotagged for future reference and subsamples taken to determine disease status and pest insect presence

Aim and objectives On average about one third of applied nitrogen is lost which costs the cotton industry $32 million each year. Fertiliser use efficiency can be improved through site-specific application of liquid nitrogen (N) in surface irrigation systems. A field-scale fertigation trial was conducted to assess: (1) the uniformity of distribution of the fertiliser applied; and (2) the agronomic performance of furrow fertigated crop based on fertiliser N recovery. The results reported in this study will aid the development of a set of practical recommendations concerning furrow fertigation in cotton to improve use efficiency of fertiliser N.

To quantify and explain patterns of soil compaction caused by cotton pickers and to develop a set of practical recommendations for minimising soil damage during harvesting operations.

Evaporation losses during sprinkler irrigation are perceived by the irrigation community to be high and is a major impediment to the adoption of sprinkler irrigation. Previous overseas experimental studies have reported losses up to 45% of the applied water and that a large proportion of the loss is droplet evaporation. However, a recent field experimental study conducted over a cotton crop at the University of Southern Queensland showed that the total evaporation is low (about 8%) and that droplet evaporation would be less than 1%. The additional evaporation during sprinkler irrigation would be about 4% of the applied water.

Energy costs have risen significantly over the past decade and cotton growers continue to look for ways to improve their on farm energy use efficiency. Pumping costs on irrigated cotton farms consistently account for 60 to 70% of total energy consumption on farm (Baillie and Chen 2008). The National Centre for Engineering in Agriculture (NCEA) has developed a Pump Efficiency Monitor (PEM) to assess energy consumption by the large mixed flow pumps found across the Australian Cotton industry. The ability of the Pump Efficiency Monitor (PEM) to continuously record pump station parameters provides data to assess combined motor and pump efficiency over an entire pumping event. This project highlights the importance to test each individual pumping set-up to identify the optimum operating point to achieve maximum efficiency. Significant cost savings are possible for individual growers and the industry collectively.

The Problem Silverleaf whitefly is costly to manage. Understanding the factors that help control whitefly populations is valuable in preventing and managing outbreaks to reduce the risk of costly sprays and of lint contamination. In experiments over 3 years we followed the survival of whitefly eggs and nymphs in the field and attributed mortality to: parasitism, predation, dead or missing. This allows us to understand both the magnitude of natural mortality and also start to identify the main factors causing it.

Issue being addressed Peak summer weather in the central Highlands region can be highly variable with potential for cloudy wet monsoonal influences or high temperatures and humidity which reduces a crops capacity to keep cool. We are investigating tactics to enable substantially earlier planting and crop development to reduce crop exposure during boll filling to mid to late summer conditions. This may improve the management of climatic risk for cotton production in the Central Highlands environment and lift aggregate yield potential and lint quality.