Rising diesel and electricity costs are well known to producers. The cost of energy is predicted to rise significantly into the longer term. This CRDC industry project is investigating alternative energy sources now to put the Australian cotton industry in a better position to deal with these challenges. The project is assessing current commercial energy alternatives (including biodiesel and CSG) as well as investigating new fuel sources, mixtures and technologies for tractors and pumping

Australian cotton has global demand and appeal and is considered to be of good quality and reliable in supply. On-farm research driven productivity improvements have contributed to a higher quality product but the increased quality appears unable to attract a price premium. End users of cotton are using sustainability related indices more and more to evaluate products, though it is unclear whether they are willing to pay a commensurate premium. Australian cotton farmers have already been developing sustainable farming practices as part of the myBMP system. The expectation is that this information can be used along the cotton supply chain to signal the added value of the cotton product to help create improved competitive advantage for Australian cotton. This joint CRDC-UTS project has been established to further develop the myBMP system and to re-position the cotton supply chain to enable the creation of this new competitive advantage. The project will run for three years from June 2011 to June 2014.

Cottonspec, a spinning prediction software, has proven a useful management tool, giving spinners immediate feedback on the fibre quality they use. The program gives excellent predictions of yarn quality. Cottonspec has also been used to demonstrate the value of new varieties of long staple cotton produced by Australian growers. Cottonspec has the capacity to improve the classification of Australian cotton by linking cotton fibre quality with yarn quality with theoretical modelling. The prediction algorithms favour long, strong, bright cotton, i.e. play on Australian cotton fibre strengths, and will utilize Australian test methods for fibre fineness and maturity, which will give the yarn quality models more prediction power. The package can be used by spinners to select the most suitable cottons, which best meet the spinner's needs, or as a quality control tool to benchmark performance against "best commercial practice". Cottonspec can also be used as a trading tool for merchants to promote the value of a particular growth, or used by cotton researchers and grower collectives to assess and promote new cotton varieties

New weed species and resistance problems in 2012 are the ecosystem's response to our substantial changes in agronomy and weed management over the last two decades. Fleabane and feathertop Rhodes grass require targeted strategies for long-term control, and glyphosate resistance can be delayed or managed with a robust strategy. In all these cases, integrated use of pre-emergent and post-emergent herbicides, tillage and crop rotation is required, and results in a 'patchwork' approach to long-term sustainability of weed management. Simple systems, as we're observing right now, invite a confounding response from the weed flora, so more diverse and complex strategies will be needed in the future

As part of the cotton industry sustainability understanding it is necessary to understand social indicators of the industry's human resources. An analysis was undertaken of the raw data from the Crop Consultant's Australia survey of its membership after the 2010-11 cotton season. Thirty two crop consultants provided responses.

Wee Waa based businesses are highly dependent (82%) on agriculture and irrigation water availability. Cotton accounts for over half of their business income (51%). * Business turnover has increased significantly (77%) with increased irrigation water supplies during 2012, but employment levels in small business have not. One third of businesses in the main street have changed ownership since the worst of the drought in 2008. * Staff recruitment, especially skilled labour, is one of the biggest challenges facing small businesses as employment levels slowly increase with better water availability. * Drought caused significant social and community impacts due to the reduction in population * There is a high degree of social and economic interdependence of Wee Waa businesses, surrounding farms and community services. They all depend on each other. * There is a currently a changing socio demographic in Wee Waa due to rising housing costs in Narrabri associated with the expanding minerals industries. Housing is now in short supply in Wee Waa, which is the complete opposite situation being experienced during the drought

Deep drainage below irrigated crops wastes a scarce resource and can potentially lead to rising water tables and salinity. The lysimeter facility at the Australian Cotton Research Institute (ACRI) was used to measure deep drainage at 2.1 m depth under a furrow irrigated cotton-wheat rotation Drainage accounted for 11% of the irrigation. Two distinct types of drainage were observed - matrix and bypass. Bypass drainage was much faster and occurred immediately after irrigation. It accounted for most of the drainage. Drainage could arrive at the watertable at 16 m depth within 15 - 30 days. Bypass drainage was inefficient at leaching accumulated salt, but removed about 6% of the applied nitrogen.

There are several important questions that have been raised about the black root rot pathogen, including: How can one detect black root rot? What makes it spread so fast? What makes it so hard to control? Would rotation with other crops, or fallow, reduce or control the disease? How about biofumigation? Could black root rot episodes be predicted? Are there any means for controlling black root rot? What is next in black root rot research? This review has been written in an attempt to answer some questions on what is known, unknown and currently investigated about cotton black root rot. It is answered from a microbiologist perspective.

Australian cotton is usually purchased to produce high quality, fine count ring spun yarn. Spinners nominate low contamination as one of the favoured properties of Australian cotton.

The study determined the chemical components of cotton and alternative host plants that influence acceptance or rejection of such plants by adults and larvae of Helicoverpa spp. Fractionalised extracts of Plant X were assessed for bioactivity towards both adult and larvae of Helicoverpa spp. in the laboratory. The results showed that Plant X have shown oviposition and feeding deterrence towards Helicoverpa spp. and high toxicity towards larvae. In addition, different modes of action of Plant X extracts have been identified. We conclude that natural chemical tools such as Plant X can be used as part of IPM to manage Helicoverpa spp. in cotton.