The objective of this project was to train Mr Brook in the correct use of new software tools at DEC's software education centre in Sydney.

The objective for this project was to erect and operate a fibreglass greenhouse at Narrabri.

Three methods of determining levels of resistance in H.armigera were evaluated. These included: (i) a standard glass vial test (ii) a tropical application (iii) a leaf disc test

Large scale trials of SIRA TAC comparing standard and dynamic thresholds were done for three years on commercial farms along the length of the Namoi valley. The results of these trials were integrated with data from CS16L and CS30L (The response of cotton crops to damage) and made available to the industry at the Australian Cotton Conference (Brook et 1986, Kelly et al 1988). Further analysis of these results shown that the capacity of the cotton crop to compensate for early season damage depends on the yield level. At yield levels common a decade or more ago (5 to 6 bales per ha) the crop could compensate but at current yield levels (7+ bales per ha) it is unable to do so. Furthermore Siokra is more tolerant to damage than DP90. These findings have been published in a series of three papers in the Journal of Economic Entomology (Brook et al 1992, in press) and received rave reviews from the cotton entomology community as one of the most thoroughly tested cotton pest management systems. The abstracts of these papers are attached.

In recent years the use of agrochemicals, often referred to as pesticides, has become an increasingly controversial topic. The purpose of this paper is to address key issues of interest to all groups with a bona fide stake in production of food, fibre and other commodities, and to emphasize the need to safeguard health and the environment as a whole. Although the conference subject is cotton production, there is a need to consider chemicals in a wider international context.

AZADIRACHTIN is a terpinoid chemical !ound in Meliaceous trees (e.q. White Cedar) but especially concentrated in the seeds of the Neem tree (Azadirachta indica). After considerable research in India, En<~land, the U.S.A., Japan, Germany and Australia; plus three international conferences, it is generally considered that this molecule is our best hope !or a safe and selective insecticide !or the 1990 s and beyond. It acts specifically on the sensory receptors of insects and their allies and also on their neuro-hormonal system, effectively disrupting their behaviour, growth, moulting and reproduction. The several modes of action of azadirachtin make it much more difficult for insects to become resistant to it. Not one case of an azadirachtin resistant insect species is known.

The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics is one of the few organisations that publish cotton pri ce forecasts t o assist growers in making their planting decisions. The US Department of Agriculture, for example, is forbidden by legislation from publishing cotton price forecasts for fear of influencing actual market outcomes. Consequently, the Bureau has a responsibility to ensure t h at its forecasts are as sound and as accurate as possible, given the data available to it at the time. Thus , the objective of recent research has been to improve the subjective forecasting process that was previously used by the Bureau through the development of an economic model of the world cotton market. Using this model, structural characteristics of the market have been studied and the effects of US farm policy have been analysed .

Australian Cotton Conference. I have been asked to speak to you on the effects on the industry of the US Farm Bill and other political moves. To be frank, I have to admit that as a non-researcher in a technical sense, I am much happier talking on this subject than on blight, spray technology, genetic engineering and the like. I would commend the Association for including in its Conference a sector on marketing and the industry. The simple fact is, without an open market and the capacity to trade internationally, your research activities become rather academic.

I will admit, nonetheless, that there are opportunities to be grasped on occasions such as this, since one can use them (whether they be publicly documented or not) to say things that wquld be inappropriate in one's normal work. And what I invariably find myself saying is this: be sceptical; the geographical and ideological divisions in the raw cotton market distort your picture much more than you imagine.