We measured the emission of nitrous oxide (N2O) from irrigated cotton that had been fertilised at four rates of N. Cotton that received N fertiliser applications at or below the economic optimum for lint production emitted relatively small quantities of N2O. Excessively high N fertiliser application increased N2O emissions exponentially.

A collaborative partnership of 16 industry and government organisations from around Australia who have chosen to partner in investments in research and development and its adoption to improve the productivity and sustainability of irrigation in Australia.

Future world meat and milk production has to increase to feed a population of 8-10 billion people within a few years. Feed resources to increase animal production will be limited by decreasing availability of cereal grains in the future as climate change, resource depletion and competition with food and fuel uses, limit grain availability. The only likely available feed biomass that is underutilized are crop byproducts and residues. The only feasible future approach to increase animal protein availability will be to use herbivores and ruminants in particular fed straws and improve their efficiency of utilisation of such materials. Bypass proteins will be critical as technology develops to use particularly the 3 billion tonnes of straw produced annually throughout the world. Harnessing the (cottonseed meal) CSM produced in Australia for efficient ruminant production is an urgent priority as it stimulates all production parameters and the efficiency of use of these low digestibility forages by ruminants.

Both neonicotinoid seed treatments provided ineffective control against resistant cotton aphid. Further use of these treatments against resistant populations may exacerbate resistance.

About 1,000,000 tons of textile fibre wastes are generated each year in Australia, of which about 900,000 tons goes to landfill. As about 35-40% of textile fibres are cotton, the cotton pipeline has a significant environmental responsibility to fulfil.

During the last 5 years we have been researching the feasibility of cotton production in the Burdekin region of north Queensland. This research suggests that good yields of high quality cotton can be grown provided that agronomy is tailored to suit local climatic conditions

To promote Australian Long Staple Cotton (ALS) large-scale spinning trials were carried out in China in late 2010 using Sicala 340BRF. Six major mills in China participated in the trials. Three yarn counts were spun: Ne 40, Ne 50 and Ne 60. The spinning performance of Sicala 340BRF was better than anticipated. The results show that ALS can be used for production of high quality fine count yarns Ne 50 and above. Partner mills have shown strong interest in continued supply of ALS.

Soil organic carbon storage in four irrigated cotton cropping systems sown on permanent beds in a cracking clay with subsoil sodicity was determined over a 9-year period in a trial near Narrabri, NSW. The treatments were: cotton-cotton (CC), cotton-vetch (CV), cotton-wheat where wheat stubble was incorporated (CW), and cotton-wheat -vetch where wheat stubble was retained as standing stubble (CVW). Vetch was terminated during or just prior to flowering by a combination of mowing and contact herbicides, and the residues retained as mulch. Average carbon storage in the 0-0.3 m and 0-1.2 m depths was higher when vetch was part of the rotation with similar values occurring in CWV and CV. On average, cropping systems that included vetch stored 2.3 t C/ha more in the 0-0.3 m depth and 5.3 t C/ha more in the 0- 1.2 m depth than those that did not. These differences correspond to inputs of nutrient-rich biomass. Net carbon sequestration rates did not differ among cropping systems and did not change significantly with time in the 0-0.3 m depth but net losses occurred in the 0-1.2 m depth.

DAFF Entomologists have found a parasitoid of the Solenopsis mealybug (Phenococcus solenopsis) from cotton at Byee in southern Qld. This is the first known record of this parasitoid in Australia. The wasp was identified as Aenasius bambawalei Hayat by Dr John La Salle, CSIRO.

Cotton blue disease (CBD) is not present in Australia. However, the vector of CBD, the cotton aphid, is common in all Australian cotton regions. It is likely that CBD has the potential to establish and spread to all cotton regions if it was to enter into Australia