Profenofos resistance is due to esterase mediated metabolism. Preliminary research suggests that an insensitive acetylcholinesterase is also involved. However, during the course of these experiments, the resistant strain being used lost its resistance. The strain has been replaced and all experiments are being repeated to verify these results.

Preliminary research indicates that ‘knock down resistance’ (kdr) is not involved in bifenthrin resistance, although further experimentation is needed. It is thought that metabolic resistance mechanisms are involved.

Research into potential resistance mechanisms to endosulfan (no endosulfan resistant cotton aphid strains are available yet, so any current research is speculative) indicate that esterase mediated resistance may be involved. Preliminary research indicates that an insensitive AChE is not likely be involved.

Research has also been done to determine whether aldicarb and carbosulfan can be separated into two separate groups in the resistance management strategy. This has turned out to be a very difficult problem to solve. Preliminary research indicates that the two chemicals could be separated out without a great risk of cross resistance occurring.

One of the major milestones was the development of a field based kit to detect pirimicarb resistance in cotton aphid populations. This kit identifies pirimicarb resistant cotton aphids by a simple colour change - squashed resistant aphids turn yellow, susceptible aphids stay clear. This kit provides the grower valuable information in making spray decisions.

H. armigera populations on cotton have been exposed to BT toxin from sprays and transgenic cotton for a number of years and a CRY 1Ac tolerant strain the “Silver strain” was bred by Dr HT Dang, from the survivors of the CRY 1Ac resistance monitoring programme. There has been some controversy over the CRY 1Ac resistance status of the “silver strain”. This controversy has been exacerbated by BT bioassay methods with a poor delivery of toxin to larvae and hence a poor dose response relationship. As this research project about the apparent ability of the “silver strain” to metabolise C RY 1Ac, is dependent on the assumption of resistance, we have done some research to improve BT bioassay methods and toxin delivery to the insect.

in the Gwydir Valley where the water resource has been over committed to such an extent that a full allocation of water will only be realized only SO years out of every 100 years. Using these parameters I will attempt to outline a few procedures we try to abide by.

Transgenic cotton was introduced to Australia in 1996 with Ingard® which was replaced by Bollgard II® in 2004/05. Transgenic cotton is now grown by over 95% of Australian cotton growers so is an integral part of the Australian cotton industry, helping enable the industry to dramatically reduce insecticide use by 89% (Australian Grown Cotton Sustainability Report 2014).

The cotton industry has been able to work closely with the commercial companies involved and regulatory bodies in developing resistance management plans and monitoring the performance of the technology primarily through the TIMS committee and research organisations. However the stewardship of the technologies at a grower level has been largely the responsibility of the commercial companies.

An industry need was identified for the delivery and promotion of independent industry research focused on resistance to GM cotton and the effectiveness of commercial stewardship programs to ensure the protection of the technology for future industry use.

Bee hives are sometimes placed near cotton fields where there is a risk that they will be exposed to pesticides such as fipronil. In recent years there have been instances of bee death that have caused concern for beekeepers. At the same time it has been suggested that the cotton crop benefits from honeybee pollination. The cotton industry needs to gather information regarding the risks that pesticide application poses to beekeepers and whether the benefits from honeybee pollination are significant enough to incorporate into practice.

The key focus of this project will include a review of the existing literature into the pollination effect of honey bees in cotton. The review includes a summary of the mating system of upland cotton, a summary of the production benefits detailed in the literature an evaluation as to the benefit of bee pollination in cotton, attractiveness of cotton to honeybees and an evaluation of the contribution of pollen beetles to pollination of cotton.

Outcomes include the need to accurately quantify the contribution of honey bees to cotton pollination as well as further determining methods to better mitigate risks to bees. Risk management needs to be conducted with Cotton Australia and Industry as well as with the bee industry with honey producers acknowledging their responsibility to inform cotton growers of hive placement and potential challenges for bees around cotton farms.

It is a well known fact that Australian cotton has a reputation as a consistent supplier of high quality cotton, which needs to be accurately and consistently specified. In order to do this the Australian Industry has, since 2004, assessed it classing sector independently to allow individual classing facilities, of which there are six, to correct any technical and operational shortcomings in their practices. This work has over the last three years been conducted by CMSE in conjunction with the CCAA with funding from the CRDC. This assessment has included; conducting formal Round-robin Trials, Check Tests, both local and international, Colour Trials, updating the BMP and conducting certification audits which will ultimately assist the industry in better predicting the quality of our cotton.

The reproducibility results from the local CCAA Check Test program, whose main aim is to determine the long term reproducibility of all HVI instruments, has been consitently improving over the last three years that. The reproducibility for fibre length, uniformity index, strength and +b (greyness) are all above 90%, with the exception of Rd (reflectance) which is below 80%. This is mainly due to the fact that the current colour chart loaded in the HVI instruments reflects US cotton which is creamier than Australian cotton.

A number of classing facilities also participate in a number of international Round Trials with most classing facilities preferring the CSITC Round Trial. Australia is the only country that collects the results of its instruments for analysis as an industry. The performance of the Australian instruments in the CSITC Round Trials has been encouraging, with the Australian instruments, with a few exceptions, generally performing better than the world average, the exception being the results for b+.

The Best Management Practice (BMP) Handbook for Classing has been extensively updated and expanded over the last three years and also linked to the BMP Handbook for Ginning. All the classing facilities that were operational over the last three years have been audited and recommended for certification by CA.

ACSA have requested that the subjective measurement of colour be discontinued and replaced by the objective measurement of colour by HVI. In preparation of developing a colour chart classing results of a large number of samples from the 2008/09 and 2009/10 crop were analysed with a draft colour chart formulated for the 2009/10 classing season. Work in this area is still in its infancy and will need further work to ensure that growers are not negatively affected due to the change from visual to objective classing of colour grade.

The results from the CRDC Quarantine Treatments project have allowed the CCAA to successfully lobby AQIS to amend their procedures regarding the treatment of calibration cotton imported into the country. AQIS have agreed that samples will now only be treated by fumigation by ETO provided that the facility has an import permit and not gamma irradiation.

During 2002 and 2003 the Australian Cotton Industry through the then CSIRO Textile and Fibre Technology Division with the support of the Australian Cotton Co-operative Research Centre (CRC) and the Australian Cotton Shippers Association (ACSA) conducted a survey of 31 international and domestic spinning mills to determine what their needs and perceptions were of Australian cotton. Spinning mills in Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Korea and Australia were surveyed. This survey [1] found that Australian cotton was generally well received with all countries rating neps and Micronaire, along with short fibre content as properties that needed improvement. The low level of contamination, colour, grade, spinning ability and staple length of Australian cotton created the best impressions.

The information collected by the survey was very valuable from a marketing perspective and assisted in shaping directions in research from breeding and growing through to ginning and classing.

In 2007 a further survey was carried out by Technopak (a management consulting firm in India) on behalf of the Cotton Research and Development Corporation (CRDC) and ACSA. Thirty four companies in China, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, India and Pakistan were surveyed. This survey’s [2] findings were similar to the findings made in the previous survey conducted in 2002/03.

The aims of the current survey described in this report were to:

1. Review / benchmark the perceptions of Australian cotton against baseline data collected in the 2002/03 survey.

2. Identify / quantify potential emerging trends with regards to raw fibre / textile demand.

3. Quantify mills’ value perception of various licensing / branding programmes (e.g. Cotton USA/BMP Cotton / Supima etc.)

4. Identify points of differentiation / value perception of Australian cotton versus other cotton origins and fibres.

5. Establish the demand potential for higher quality Australian cotton.

Thirty five companies that purchase Australian cotton and a management consulting firm were interviewed, during 2009 and 2010, in regard to its quality in yarn production. A survey-interview approach, which entails person-to-person interviews conducted around a set of scripted questions, was used. Spinning companies from Japan, Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong/China, India and Indonesia were surveyed as well as the last remaining cotton spinning company in Australia. The survey consisted of a series of background questions about each spinning company’s production, raw fibre use and spinning facilities followed by a series of more open-end questions about the quality of Australian cotton fibre. Information gathered during the survey interviews was enhanced by objective measurement of fibre samples gathered from bale lay-downs in mills of more than half the spinning companies surveyed.

As expected the 30-39 Ne yarn count range was the most important for the spinner’s surveyed, accounting for 42% of their production, followed by the <30 Ne yarn count, accounting for 39% of the production and the 40-59 Ne yarn count, accounting for 15% of the production, with 4% in the >60 Ne yarn count range. Australian cotton made up 32% of the blend in the 40-59 Ne range, 19% in the 30-39 Ne range and 5% in the <30 Ne range. There was negligible use of Australian cotton in yarn counts >60 Ne, with this market dominated by US Pima and Egyptian cotton. However with the price and shrinking of Extra Long Staple (ELS) cotton there is a potential for Long Staple Upland cottons to be used in greater quantities in the 50-70 Ne count range providing they meet certain specifications. It is felt that this is an area where the Australian Long Staple Upland (ALS) fibre could be used;supported by the fact that the surveys demonstrated significant usage of the premium Upland SJV Ultima fibre in the 60-80 Ne market.

Despite the range of spinning systems and yarns produced in the spinning mills surveyed, the average impression of Australian cotton fibre properties was quite consistent. All countries rated neps and short fibre content as properties that needed improvement. The low level of contamination and stickiness, colour grade, spinning ability and staple length of Australian cotton created the best impressions.

Whilst it is difficult to be accurate about the exact proportion of Australian cotton that meets preferred specifications, from the 2009/10 bale lay-down test results it can be said that in general less than 50% of Australian cotton bales met spinner’s preferences with regards to short fibre content and less than a third of Australian cotton bales met spinner’s preferences with regards to nep values. Australian cotton was better in regard to Micronaire, strength, length and uniformity.

As far as contracted specifications are concerned, US Upland cotton from the San Joaquin Valley (SJV) cotton was still superior to competitive growths particularly in terms of strength and Micronaire, with Micronaire values typically lower and occurring in a narrower band of values. Australian cotton was ranked second after SJV with staple length and grade similar to SJV. Encouragingly, Australian cotton scored particularly well for key non-contracted specifications; particularly contamination, trash content and spinning ability where it was considered vastly superior to competing growths.

In regards to licensing programmes, product quality, marketability and traceability of product were the three most important characteristics of a branded raw cotton product, followed by social responsibility and environmental credentials, according to survey respondents. If these characteristics are translated into consumer brand recognition, which subsequently generates demand pull for a licensed product, then barriers to participation such as legal/compliance costs, increased paperwork and cost of raw material are negated.

Overall, the preferred method of bale packaging was clearly cotton bags, followed by polyethylene film, jute/hessian and lastly woven polypropylene. Plastic bale strapping was considered the most suitable method to tie bales followed by wire ties and metal straps.

Across all markets, Casual Attire was clearly identified as the key product growth category for both downstream textile demand and raw cotton demand. Street attire and Home Textiles also showed moderate demand growth. Inner attire and Sports attire showed strong overall demand growth; however their cotton usage was low, primarily due to replacement by manmade performance fibres. Formal/Business wear showed the lowest overall textile demand with cotton being replaced by easy care manmade fibres.

Across all product categories, and across all markets, comfort was clearly identified as the most important textile property by survey respondents. Handle and breathability were also considered important. Interestingly, within the Home Textiles segment, natural attributes and eco-credentials were seen as more important than in other market segments.

‘Assuring industry capacity to manage the stewardship of biotechnologies and crop protection products’, is a key tactic within the CRDC’s 2012-12 Annual Operating Plan. Refuges are key to maintaining the viability of Bt cotton by delaying resistance development in Helicoverpa to Bt toxin. However, to ensure the best resistant management strategies are in place for Bollgard III, researchers need to confirm refuge assumptions. In a previous summer Scholarship (CRC 5.10.03.31 SS) refuge assumptions were tested, finding 1) no difference on commercial farms in the number of eggs laid on pigeon pea and cotton refuges; and 2) that more moths were produced from cotton refuges. Because these results are controversial, the researcher proposes to repeat the study, but include additional measurements of nitrogen and moisture content of the refuge crop, as laboratory results indicate that these parameters affect refuge attractiveness and productivity. The aim of this project is to clarify the findings of relative attractiveness and productivity of commercially grown cotton and pigeon pea refuges. This data will enable the researcher to quantify refuge productivity.

The research strategy behind this project will involve sampling refuges on approximately 20 farms, with the direct involvement of growers to this project leading to an increased ownership and acknowledgement of the results on their individual farms.

This Summer Scholarship was instigated following a previous similar study that found no difference in either the number of eggs laid (attractiveness) or moth produced (productivity), between pigeon pea and cotton on commercial farms. This project found that pigeon pea refuges were twice as attractive and productive as the cotton refuges. It also highlighted the importance of management, as the most attractive life cycle stage for pigeon pea was with pods while flowering.

One aspect of the desire to improve the quality of the Australian cotton crop is to introduce new fibre quality imstrumentation to supplement the current Mircronaire measurement. In previous CRDC funded projects, CSIRO has been developing the Cottonscan instrumentation to directly measure the average fibre fineness or linear density of a cotton sample.

During the two year period coverd by the project, in response to industry feedback, the Cottonscan technology has been significaintly upgraded to improve the measurment time. The five existing Cottonscan instruments (Three at CSIRO, and two in research laboratories in the US) were upgraded. Comparative trials demonstrated that the performance of the instrument was not compromised by the technical upgrade.

A number of spining trial in commercial Chinese mills demonstrated that the data available from the Cottonscan measurement is valuable to the spinner in its superior ability compared to current measurements (HVI micronaire), to predict yarn quality.

Finally, during this period a commercial license to manufacture and sell Cottonscan instruments has been granted to an Australian company. The company, Cottonscope Ltd, have displayed prototype commericial instruments at a number of international trade fairs and conferences.

A group of cotton growers along the Comet River identified a problem with the infestation of weeds such as parkinsonia, parthenium and rubber vine. The areas of significant infestations were mapped and included tributaries to the Comet River. We identified an area of approximately 1500ha from the mapped areas of significant infestations, the total areas included:

• Parkinsonia Weed Control is approx. 350 ha.

• The total length of riparian weed control for Parkinsonia is approx. 106.1 km.

• The total length of riparian weed control for Parthenium is approx. 80 km.

• The total length of riparian weed control for Rubber Vine is approx. 2.3 km.

The group, through the Comet Sustainable Farming Association, decided to undertake an environmental weed control program that would not only control these weeds, but also contribute to the ongoing conservation and protection of biodiversity of this area.

Prior to commencement of control a general survey was conducted by landholders to determine areas of highest priority. Generally it was evident that the major infestations were along the smaller waterways rather than the river as there was less competition with other trees and vegetation. Generally across all tributaries to the Comet River on Goonoo, Adelong, Kronje, Arcturus and Willoughby the Parkinsonia were mostly young developing plants ranging from 20cm in height to 2.5metres with some older trees also present.

The control method used was the basal bark technique mixing Access with diesel. On average over the entire area there would have been approximately four plants per 150m. However there were areas with a much higher density with one site seeing close to 200 Parkinsonia plants scattered over just a few hectares. This particular site was located at the junction of an anabranch and the main river system where previous flood events had washed away vegetation making it an optimal location for infestation.

The total area that was treated was estimated to be approximately 85km of waterways and included the Comet River, Anabranches of the Comet River, Springsure Creek, Station Creek, Orion Creek and minor tributaries of these waterways.