All insecticide management decisions require a solid platform of reliable data and this can only be achieved by a long term committment to pesticide studies, obtaining baseline susceptibility data and monitoring of changes in resistance levels. In this paper, a summary of findings from this resistance monitoring program from 1974 to 1988 will be presented. Insecticides screened have been pyrethoids, endosulfan, carbamates and organophosphorous compounds. At the same time, research has been conducted to develop innovative bioassay methods for chemicals with novel modes of action or unusual methods of entry into Heliot:h.is spp.

At the time of the initiation of the H.armigera resistance management strategy, there was a need to demonstrate that any increase in resistance was limited to crops sprayed with pyrethroids. An increase in resistance in these populations could lead to a consistently high level of resistance in cotton areas. This paper reports the results of a resistance survey on H.armigera collected from 1983-1988 in New South Wales.

Insecticides can poison insects in many ways. Insecticides r...:an interfere with metabolic processes , of energy production, cuticular growth and hormone production. Many i nsecticides, being potent onerve P>isons, can stop nervous transmission through the insect nervous system. Resistance is now apparent to most. , if not all, types of insecticides and research on the mechanisms of resistance has always been part of the mult disciplinary approach which should be adopted for All cases of insecticide resistance management.. To deal with pyrethroid resistant H. armigera it is necessary to know exactly why the insects are resistant.

Most, if not all, entomologists involved in the development of cotton insect management systems agree that an essent1al part of a successful Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program is the ava;lability of an eff1cac1ous material against a system's key pests. Certainly an app ropriate quest1on 1s this: What are th.e prospects for maintaining such compounds1 First, a little history: During the past three decades the resistance phenomenon has removed from our insecticide arsenal three classes of chem1cals for at least one key pest in the major crops system. This is a loss of an efficacious materials at an alarmi ng rate of one class of chemicals for each decade. It presently appears that the more recent group, the synthet1c pyrethroids, are facing the same demise.

As most of you are aware, the Siratac Cotton Management Advisor computer program is being rewritten. There will be those amongst you who are unaware as to why this is being done. The main reason for all this effort is that the existing Siratac is running out of puff. The constant demand for changes in Siratac to reflect changes in the industry is causing Siratac to strain at the edges. In addition, looking not to far into the future, one can see requirements that are not easily provided by Siratac, including a modern intelligent interfaces, improved graphics, flexible access to grower data, ad hoc reporting etc.

The two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae, ranks second to Heliothis in importance as a pest of cotton. Mites reduce profitability by reducing the yield and fibre quality of cotton. In order to manage mites we need to know their seasonal pattern of abundance and what factors effect this, how to estimate their abundance, how damaging they are and when to control them. It is also essential to study the biology and ecology of the pest as this knowledge can improve the use of currently available controls and may lead to other non-chemical methods of management.

As major pests of cotton production, Heliothis spp. are of most concern to growers during the summer when they are active and damaging crops. Once autumn arrives and the crop is picked, Heliothis are soon forgotten. But they remain, secreted in their underground burrows, usually in low numbers, sometimes numerous, ready to emerge with the return of warm spring weather to haunt growers the following season. In this paper we will outline what is currently known about the overwintering phase of Heliothis populations, what a high survival of pupae means for regional population dynamics and pesticide resistance, and what growers might do about it.

Well to satisfy everyones's curiosity, r will answer the question straight away. Yes, we can survive resistance! However, in answering it, I shall put another, perhaps even more thought provoking than the first. Yes, but for how long? We not only need a strategy which seems to be working now, but one that will continue to work well into the future. The ultimate goal is a sustainable pest management system for cotton in which insecticides and resistance management are only a part.

AUSTRALIAN COTTON CONFERENCE ACGRA 1988 members , Agenda , 1988

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