I attended the 7th International Verticillium Conference, held in Greece from 6th-10th October, 1997. I was invited to present a keynote paper giving an overview of the propects for the use of genetically engineered crops for control of vascular wilt diseases. In addition I presented a paper describing experimental results obtained with transgenic cotton plants expressing either glucose oxidase or chitinase. These two presentations were submitted as papers for inclusion in the published Conference Proceedings. A detailed report on the scientific results presented at the meeeting is attached. This report will be circulated to colleagues via the Covert newsletter. O Various valuable contacts were renewed (with Jane Robb, University of Guelph; and Kathy Dobinson, Agriculture Canada) and new contacts made with opportunities for collaborative research emerging. I will collaborate with Richard Cooper (University of Bath) to investigate the role of sulphur in tolerance of cotton to Venicillium wilt and with Oen Huisman (University of California, Berkeley) to use fluorescent antibodies to study Verticillium infection of transgenic cotton. I may be able to obtain constructs for generation of Venicillium expressing green iluorescent protein from Mary Powelson (Oregon State University).

OBJECTIVES OF TRAVEL To attend the 1 lth Biennial Conference of the Australasian Plant Pathology Society (APPS), present a paper on recent research from CRDC Project DANlOOC and attend a practical workshop on disease management at the conference. To meet and interact with leading pathologists and mycorrhizologists from the Australasian region.

Dr Christian was invited to attend the USDA-ARS's Helicoverpa/Heliothis (H/H) Meeting in College Station Texas on 7 and 8 October 1997. This meeting is the major meeting of AAS scientists involved in H/H research in the US and is only held every 3 years (the last meeting held in Texas in 1994 - which Dr Christian also attended). In addition to USDA staff, the invitation to attend the meeting was also extended to all other researchers in the US working on H/H. The meeting provided an excellent opportunity for interactions with USDA's scientists involved in H/H research and the only chance to meet, in one place, many of the scientists working in this area in the USA. This meeting also formed part of the USDA's planning process for H/H research for the next five years and therefore provided a valuable insight into the () directions that will be taken in this area of research in the USA during this timeframe. () In addition to attending the meeting in Texas, Dr Christian also visited collaborators at the USDA's laboratories in Columbia Mo. to discuss future collaborations on NPVs for control of Helicoverpa. This collaboration has been on-going for the last several years and has provided the foundation for much of the host range testing that has been carried out in the program Genetic Engineering of Helicoverpa NPVs.

Objectives: To purchase a new autosampler in order to provide faster, more accurate analysis of cotton samples.

This Project has provided the Department of Primary Industries cotton Development Extension Officers with good quality portable computers and mobile telephones ensuring maximum effectiveness of their role in the cotton industry extension programs for the development and demonstration of cotton decision support systems and packages as an integral part of field trials and demonstrations and in industry workshops

One hundred & seventy people were given training in soil assessment and management Hands-on training in soil management was given to one hundred & seventy members of the Australian cotton industry at a series of 11 courses between October 1997 and September 1999. The courses were held in the Narrabri, Warren, Moree, Emerald, Dalby, Wee Waa, Goondiwindi, Gunnedah, Theodore. Walgett and Bourke districts. The main aim of the courses was to demonstrate how to use 'SO!Lpak for Cotton Growers, Third Edition ' *, with emphasis on soil sampling for yield map interpretation. Soil monitoring for farm accreditation schemes also was discussed. Most of the soil inspections were carried out via 1.5 metre deep backhoe pits, which usually were dug in * McKenzi e, D .C. (ed.) 1998. SOILpak for Cotton Growers, Third Edition. 395 pp. (NSW Agriculture, Orange.) triplicate. The courses focussed on the needs of Private Consultants and Government Advisers associated with the cotton industry - a summary of course attendees is shown in Table 1. Details are in Appendix 1. David McKenzie also demonstrated soil description

PROJECT OBJECTIVES 1. To assess the performance of the new distributor across a wide range of outlet numbers,, flow rates and tank pressures with both conventional gas and Cold-flo product., 2. To assess the performance of the new distributor in conjunction with a range of metering, devices (ie. both controllers and regulators).,

Project Objective Year 1: To order and purchase a new file server and install it at ACRI.

The aim of this project is to evaluate annually a large number of cotton breeding lines and cultivars for yield and quality characteristics in Queensland in collaboration with the CSIRO cotton breeding programs at Narrabri. The following trial program provides the milestones for this project. 1. Australian Cotton Cultivar Trials ( 4 irrigated sites - Brookstead on the Darling Downs and Theodore, Biloela and Emerald in central Queensland, plus 2 dryland sites- Dalby on the Darling Downs and Biloela in central Queensland. 2. Short Season Trials on the Darling Downs (1 site - Brookstead) 3. Full Season Trials in central Queensland (2 sites - Biloela, Emerald) 4. Hot Area - Material Trials in central Queensland (1 site - Emerald) 5. lngard Variety Trials (Emerald in central Queensland and Brookstead on the Darling Downs)

To ensure the viability of cotton research into the ears of agronomy, entomology and pathology by NSW Agriculture staff at the Australian Cotton Research Institute