At Emerald, in the 1982/83 season, significant levels of field resistance in Heliothis armiger to synthetic pyrethroid insecticides were detected. In the field, many of the later maturing crops were severely damaged by insects despite heavy insecticide application. Research at Emerald and elsewhere has demonstrated the value of early maturity in avoiding late season insect damage in cotton.

The pink spotted bollworm (Pectinophora scutigera) has been an important.pest of cotton since 1924 in coastal, and sub-coastal Dawson-Callide regions of central Queensland. Its distribution has been described as.coastal Queensland, extending to the north coast of N.S.W., New Guinea, and other Pacific Islands. Despite its establishment in the Emerald Irrigation Area, where it was first recorded in 1980, it has not become an important pest there. It is not a pest of cotton in southern Queensland or N.S.W.

With increasing problems of resistance to chemical pesticides amongst cotton pests, especially Heliothis, more attention is being given to biological control agents, including pathogens. Pathogens are often more compatible with chemicals than predators and parasitoids, and many can be formulated and sprayed in the same manner as chemicals. In addition, some can be easily grown using mass fermentation techniques. They are usually completely harmless.to man, domestic animals and other biocontrol agents. However, much work remains to be done on the ecology and physiology of these pathogens, as well.as on the technical aspects of production, formulation and application.

Numerous studies on the effect of the nectariless gene on insect pests of cotton have been carried out both overseas and in Australia. However most of the latter studies have been conducted under small plot conditions which are not really suitable for assessing the effects of this character. This trial measured pest populations on large plots of normal and nectariless cotton isolines grown under standard commercial management practices. It was also designed to study anv possible differences in the ovipositional responses of the two Heliothis spp. (H._ armigera and H .punctigera) to these lines: an area of research which had been neglected in previous studies.

The adult stages of the two Heliothis species found most abundantly in the summer cropping areas of Australia (H. armigera and .H. punctigera) are easily distinguishable and have been so for some time. However the inability to distinguish the larval stages of these two species has hampered research on their ecology. For the past 5-10 years scientists studying.H. armigera and H, punctigera have found that in the early larval' stages Cuticle pigmentation separated the species. More recently hair colour differences on the last instar larvae have proved successful for identification. Verification and refinement of these techniques is presented

By now most people in the cotton industry have formed an opinion about Siratac as a concept and Siratac as a Company. The range of opinion varies from those who are strongly against both the concept and operation of the Company to those who are current users and strong supporters. Inevitably the majority are neither convinced one way or the other and.remain to be sold on the idea. In order to come to grips with Siratac it is necessary to develop a philosophical attitude toward cotton growing based on a common objective, giving due consideration to the consequences of our actions both past and present.

The overall aim of this project was to develop systems for targeting transgene expression in plants to enhance their defence responses.

We were investigating two methods for the regulation of the expression of transgenes in transgenic cotton. One method involved limiting gene function by insertion of the transposable element Ac. Transposition of the Ac element (where the Ac element “jumps out” of the gene) can cause localised re-activation of the target gene. This could be used to give small areas of localised gene expression in instances where constitutive expression of the gene in all cells would have a detrimental effect. This could be useful in the case of avirulence genes, for example. The use of transposable elements has other potential uses for gene tagging and we wished to demonstrate its feasibility in cotton. The second method involved an investigation of the behaviour of some potentially pathogen-inducible promoters as drivers of transgene expression. In this study our focus was on the PR10 gene family. Members of this gene family are highly induced by Fusarium infection of cotton – in fact they constitute a significant component of cotton’s responses to Fusarium.

For more than a century, petroleum-derived spray oils have been used to kill

susceptible pests, principalIy scales and wites through anoxia (suffocation). This

mode of action, and the use of oils as adjuvants, has severely limited their use alone

as biorational products in integrated crop management(ICM) programs. Significant

effects of oil deposits on arthropod behaviour, and opportunities for using products

to simultaneously control a range of pests and diseases, have been overlooked.

Recent research has demonstrated that the range of pests that can be controlled

through behavioural effects of contemporary products is far greater than the range

that can be controlled by anoxia. This research includes University of Western

Sydney and NSW Agriculture studies that indicated significant potential for use of

petroleum-derived spray oils (specifically horticultural and agricultural mineral oils)

to control Helicoverpa spp. in cotton and other crops.

The Australian Cotton Shippers Association (ACSA) invited CSIRO to give presentations on new CSIRO varieties and spin and dye trials as part of Export Market Development (EMD) seminars in Bangladesh, Indonesia and Thailand held between 29/5/2016 and 3/6/2016.

11th ACGRA Cotton Conference Programme, media coverage and survey results.