The introduction of transgenic cotton within the cotton industry has allowed for increased yields due to

decreased losses from insect activities. The main pests which have been targeted through the genetic

modification are Helicoverpa punctigera and Helicoverpa armigera. The reduction in the presence of these

two species could have several ecological implications, including an increase in other lepidopteran species

more tolerant to Bt toxins that were previously suppressed by Helicoverpa spp. The results presented in this

report are part of a Masters thesis which will look at the moth communities in Bt cotton and its refuges over

four seasons. The results presented here focus on the 2015/16 season. During this season low numbers of

moths were caught, which matched the low numbers of Helicoverpa caught in the same traps. There was no

difference in the Lepidopteran communities between crops, and in particular Bt and non-Bt cotton. This was

probably due to the low sample sizes, and may also reflect a finding in other cotton communities, that

differences in Bt and non-Bt cotton communities are only found when there is high Helicoverpa pressure.

There was a difference in the number of moths found in pigeon pea and cotton, with more moths found in

cotton in January, and more moths were found in pigeon pea in February. This may reflect the phenology of

the crops where cotton is flowering and probably more attractive in January than February, while pigeon pea

tends to remain attractive and flowering later in the season.

Represention of CRDC role as the Co-Ordinator of the 2015/16 AES School based trainees programme.

Represent the CRDC role and industry at the Primary Industry Health & Safety Partnership Teleconferences and at the National Farmsafe Conference, October, 2014.

The broad aim of the ‘UNE/CRDC Cotton Course’ has been to provide students with the necessary scientific and practical skills for sustainable cotton production. The units are designed with industry consultation for those people already in the cotton industry and for those wishing to enter the industry. Students learn how the cotton crop grows, how to manage the crop and the factors that affect the sustainability of cotton production in Australia. Assessment is by a combination of assignments, involvement in a residential practical school (one 3-4 day school per unit) and an examination. The type and weighting of assessments varies in each unit.

The ‘Cotton Production Course’ is made up of the following units.

• Applied Cotton Production

• Cotton Protection

• Cotton and the Environment

• Cotton Farming Systems

These units can be studied flexibly at undergraduate or postgraduate level. Students receive the same set of notes and presentations from industry experts and only differ in the required workload and level of assessment.

Brendan Griffiths has held the role of lecturer of the Cotton Course at UNE for the duration of this project. Brendan has spent nearly twenty five years working as a field agronomist, researcher, and consultant in the cotton industry and has also worked in both agribusiness and manufacturing sectors. Brendan has spent the past fifteen years operating a private consultancy business based in Goondiwindi, Queensland and is in the latter part of a PhD in irrigated agriculture.

It is through Brendan’s experience and industry linkages, as well as modern teaching technology, that new ideas have been brought to both the delivery and content of the Cotton Course. Collaboration with industry researchers and others, in writing and reviewing notes and giving presentations to students, will ensure continual relevance and a process of improvement. Over the three teaching years we have made significant changes to the cotton production course’ teaching material, a process that is ongoing. We have included topical issues facing the cotton industry, such as carbon and climate change, natural resource management, and water reform, as well as updating material with respect to plant nutrition and changes in current agronomic practices.

Verticillium wilt of cotton is caused by a fungus (Verticillium dahliae) that infects the host plant via the roots and colonises the vascular system. Symptoms therefore include a brown discoloration of the vascular tissue within the stem, branches and petioles and a yellowing and death of leaf tissue especially between the veins. The pathogen survives the intercrop period in association with infected crop debris or susceptible weed hosts. Verticillium wilt is favoured by cool soil conditions and symptoms are therefore most obvious in late spring and autumn. Yields may be reduced by up to 25% in seasons when environmental conditions favour the disease.

A widespread problem of premature defoliation and physiological cut out of cotton has occurred in the Emerald Irrigation Area since the early 1980s. The problem was particularly severe in 1988 and 1989. This premature senescence has consistently been associated with a discolouration of the upper leaves towards plant maturity, and also with the leaf spot fungus Altemaria macrospora. Premature senescence can occur and lead to leaf loss even in the absence of leaf spot infection, although defoliation is neither as swift or complete. To enable comparison between visual estimates in the field, a standard scale of the symptom severity has been adopted (table 1). This is usually assessed at a time just prior to the first boll splitting.

Question: When is a cotton plant not a cotton plant? Answer: All the time. Healthy cotton plants are always part of a mycorrhiza.

Documentation of crop yields and varieties in the Toowoomba Royal Agricultural Show Irrigated Crops Competition since 1972 demonstrates the great advances achieved by cotton breeders as new varieties have been introduced to the industry. Data is based entirely on commercial crops entered in the competition on the Darling Downs. Agronomic data for those crops collected since 1987 also provides an interesting documentation of commercial crop management on the Darling Downs. Unfortunately, previous crop history, which influences nutrition inputs, and insecticide applications were not recorded, depriving us of a more complete picture. Crop yields are determined from the field area, precisely measured, required to produce a full module. The module is then weighed and ginned commercially at the ginnery

Cotton production is an increasingly complex business requiring continuous adaptation to changing circumstances. Resilience thinking is an approach designed to understand a complex and changing operating environment and maintain capacity to manage future challenges. CRDC undertook this resilience assessment of the Australian cotton industry at multiple scales to better understand how to best adapt to change and identify critical threats and opportunities for the industry, and strategically target investment and resources. This resilience assessment is structured around the three scales of cotton production in Australia – the farm, the region and whole of industry.

This Guide provides you with a comprehensive summary of the key cotton crop protection issues, and is brought to you by CRDC and the Australian cotton industry's joint extension program, CottonInfo.

During the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons planting date experiments were carried out at Narrabri Agricultural Research Station using a range of cotton varieties. These experiments form part of an on-going program to investigate the agronomic performance of new cotton genotypes and they also provide data for the development of crop simulation models. This paper presents the yield results from these experiments and draws conclusions about the most appropriate varieties for planting in various pans of the season.