Hibiscus trionum L. (bladder ketmia) is one of the most common weeds throughout the Australian cotton industry. There are two varieties of the weed, the narrow leaf introduced variety Hibiscus trionum var. trionum and the native variety Hibiscus trionum var. vesicarius (Hochr.). There are two types of the wide leaf variety, commonly differentiated by their yellow and red centre flowers. Both Anoda cristata (L.) Schltr. (anoda weed) and Abutilon theophrasti Medik. (velvetleaf or swamp Chinese lantern) are less common but increasingly problematic weeds from the same plant family, Malvaceae.

Narrow leaf bladder ketmia is common in many ‘cooler’ and eastern areas and appears to be spreading outside these areas. Wide leaf bladder ketmia is more common in the ‘warmer’ western areas and is spreading within these areas. Anoda weed is a large problem in many areas in Queensland (Qld) and is spreading into areas in New South Wales (NSW). Velvetleaf is very uncommon in Qld and only found in small areas in NSW. Each of these species reproduces by seed and are spread by poor on-farm hygiene, by dirty machinery moving between clean and dirty areas (especially for anoda weed) and in water (especially the case for velvetleaf). Immediate action is required to manage these weeds and restrict their movement into areas where they presently do not occur.

These weeds are common throughout spring, summer and autumn, although narrow leaf bladder ketmia grows and produces seeds all year round. Wide leaf bladder ketmia and velvetleaf produce mature seeds from December onwards and anoda weed from February. To prevent seed set and cotton yield losses, management of these weeds needs to address three lifecycle aspects, these being firstly, successive seedling flushes after rainfall and irrigation, secondly, preventing adult plants from setting seed and thirdly, ensuring that good farm hygiene is practised so that spread is prevented. There are a number of registered herbicide options to control both seedling and adult plants of bladder ketmia, but limited or no options for the treatment of anoda weed and velvetleaf respectively. Cultivation and chipping are useful management tools in-crop while good farm hygiene should centre on cleaning down machinery and removing weeds from irrigation system infrastructure. These tools should all be used in combination in an integrated weed management (IWM) regime to ensure that successful control is achieved. Further herbicide options may need to be pursued for the control of anoda weed and velvetleaf in Australian cotton farming systems.

The Leaf Chamber Fluorometer is an exciting new addition to the physiological instrumentation available to the scientists at ACRI. The LCF has raised the investigative capabilities of the cotton research team and made it possible to study in greater depth stress related physiological responses in cotton. Its application will be broad encompassing stresses induced by pests and environmental extremes such as temperature and available water. Current and future projects will be measuring gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence concurrently, exploring and revealing the physiological origins of stresses in cotton that could result in declining yield and fibre quality. Significant findings using the LCF are expected over the next few years which will maintain research of an innovative standard in areas of cotton physiology for the team at ACRI.

The Multiple Pathways program at Goondiwindi State High Schoolis a lighthouse

example for other rural communities to engage in a training agenda. The Goondiwindi

State High School has played the role of lead agency in the wider community as it has

focused on providing training and skilling opportunities for its students in partnership

with local industry. The complexity of meeting formal training requirements in rural

remote communities who have no access to either training providers or training facilities

deters most stakeholders from pursuing formal quality training.

Destination studies undertaken by Goondiwindi State High School provide detailed

analysis of students' employment and training qualifications five years after their

completion of Year 12. These studies indicated that the 70% of students who moved to

fulltime local employment were being significantly disadvantaged by a lack of formalised

training. The results of the first destination studies undertaken in 1994 indicated that of

this 70%, only 1.3% were formally qualified or involved in any post school training.

Without access to training these graduates face reduced mobility and limited long-term

work prospects. The school embraced the opportunity to formalise qualifications for

students through a partnership of training with the business community.

The early stages of Vocational Education in our school involved the delivery of TRAC

(Training in Retail and Commerce). Our naivety about the complexity of delivering

formal qualifications was only dwarfed by our enthusiasm!

What makes our program outstanding is its diversity and the level of student

participation, employer participation, parental support and successfully overcoming the

extraordinary difficulties of dealing with the range of stakeholders involved. The

program's success has been validated by education (as a recipient of Education

Queensland's inaugural 2000 Showcase Award for Excellence) as well as by industry (as

recipient of the Queensland Training Award for the McDonald's Australia Vocational

Education and Training in Schools Excellence Award).

Strategically it was important to work collaborativeIy and cooperativeIy with local

employers. The school initiated many information evenings (involving employers,

parents and students); business breakfasts; employer training sessions; and door-to-door

promotion. Many man hours, personal effort and effective management have

cuIminated in the extraordinary success of the Goondiwindi State High School Vocational

Education program in 2000.

Purpose of travel was to attend the bi-annual Australian Cotton Shippers Association Conference to increase understanding of the current marketing and supply chain issues facing the Australian cotton industry so I can better fulfil my role as a grower representative on ACGRA involved in the assessment, prioritisation and review of CRDC Value Chain research projects.

Australia's primary industries and the communities that depend on them need to be sustainable, competitive and profitable now, and into the future, to secure Australia's food supplies and national prosperity. The predicted changes in the Australian climate are substantial, and the effects will vary widely across the country. Changes in temperature, rainfall, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, ocean currents and chemistry, winds, nutrient supply, and extreme weather conditions will all generate impacts and opportunities for Australian agriculture, fisheries and forestry industries.

To further develop rural and regional Australia through challenging, learning and growing our leadership skills.

This Technical Guideline Update restates the ecological values associated with wood in streams (upland and lowland), with additional emphasis on associated floodplains and wetlands. These areas are the primary source of the timber that finds its way into streams, and have biological communities that also benefit from the presence of wood. The Technical Guideline Update also provides additional information that will assist those who seek to reinstate wood as part of rehabilitation efforts aimed at improving the ecological health of river systems. These new insights have been collated from recent management experience and ongoing research on the role of wood in the ecology and geomorphology of streams, particularly in south eastern Australia.

Cotton fibres are single epidermal cells developed from the ovule. While a number of genes expressed exclusively in cotton fibre development have been isolated, the genes responsible for differentiation of fibre cells have not yet been identified (Basra, 1999). Arabidopsis leaf trichomes could potentially serve as a model for investigating the genetic mechanism controlling cotton fibre differentiation, as the two developmental processes have several features in common. Arabidopsis trichome development is well characterised both genetically and molecularly, and provides an excellent model for plant cell differentiation for several reasons (Marks et al. , 1991). These reasons include ease of observation, relative simplicity of the developmental process, and viabillty of plants with mutant trichomes. One gene shown to be required for Arabidopsis trichome initiation is TRANSPARENT TESTA GLABRAl (TTGl) (Koornneef, 1981). This gene has recently been cloned and shown to encode a 341 amino acid protein with four WD40 repeats (Walker et al. , 1999). The TTGl locus regulates several pathways in Arabidopsis (in addition to leaf trichome formation), including anthocyanin pigmentation, root hair formation, and seed coat mucilage production. Due to the role played byTTGI Arabidopsis trichome initiation, it was thought homologues of TTGl might exist in cotton to control fibre initiation. Four putative TTGl homologues have been isolated from cotton, designated TTG(1),TTG(11), TTGOPl and pTTG(c)E2 (Orford, unpublished).

These proceedings represent the outcomes of one of Australia's most successful R&D programs in natural resources management - minimisation of the impact of pesticides on the riverine environment. Conducted over a period of four years, the program focussed on irrigated cotton in NSW and Queensland as a model for other industries that use pesticides. The reasons for choosing cotton were several: it is the highest agricultural user of pesticides, it has been subject to ongoing criticism by environmental groups, it is an expanding industry with a bright commercial future in Australia, and it was prepared to take on board the research required to address the perceived problems and moreover adopt the outcomes.

The Box-Ironbark ecosystem in northern Victoria has been substantially cleared, and is not well represented in conservation reserves. Programs conducted by various agencies and community groups targeting private land remnants have been based on voluntary participation and education, and have not been successful in attracting large numbers landholders with Box-Ironbark remnants or large areas of remnant. Many areas of quality remnant of this ecosystem are thought to exist on private land, however, little is known of these remnants, the perceptions of these remnants by landholders, and how they may be managed. This project was developed to gather information on all of these questions, to identify the various landholder groups within the Box-Ironbark region, and how the conservation management of remnants on private land may be enhanced in the future by this knowledge.