Helicoverpa punctigera, along with Helicoverpa armigera, are major pests in Australian cotton. They are currently controlled using “Bt cotton” which contain genes derived from the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis, that produce proteins toxic to Helicoverpa. While most effort has focused on preventing Helicoverpa spp. developing genetic resistance to these toxins, laboratory studies have shown that larvae which are not resistant are able to tolerate low to medium levels of toxin. This “induced tolerance” could lead to larvae surviving on Bt cotton without being resistant, and it could provide a stepping stone to the development of resistance. While Helicoverpa are known to develop some tolerance after one generation of exposure to Bt toxins, we did not know whether exposure is required throughout the entire larval period or only during particular instars. The aim of this summer project was to test if exposing the larvae Helicoverpa punctigera at different larval stages to 2% or 5% toxin concentrations of the discriminating dose of Cry1Ac toxin (used by CSIRO’s Resistance Team) would affect larval development and lead to tolerance in their offspring.

The results confirmed that after exposing only one generation of larvae to low levels of Cry1Ac toxins their offspring were able to tolerate higher levels of Cry1Ac than the controls. In addition we found that larvae exposed to Cry1Ac in early instars overcompensated their growth once they fed on non-toxin diet, and those exposed as late instars actively tried to avoid the toxin and developed into smaller moths. While the offspring of larvae exposed to 5% toxin as late instars showed the most tolerance, those exposed to 2% toxin as late instars also produced significantly more tolerant offspring. These results indicate that the critical period for the development of tolerance is late in larval development.

These results have implications in respect to Bt cotton efficacy, and could have implications in respect to the placement of refuges. They suggest that larvae moving off other crops and completing their development in Bt cotton could produce offspring at least as tolerant as those completing their development within the Bt crop. Therefore ideally refuges need to be far enough away from Bt cotton to avoid older larvae moving into the cotton.

This is capital item funded by the CRDC to support CRDC funded project CSP140C 'The impact of temperature extremes on cotton performance'. The installation of a controlled Temperature Cold Room Facility at ACRI Narrabri is to study chilling injury of cotton, at emergence, development to flowering, and boll period (including the impacts on fibre quality).

Having a facility at Narrabri allows specific types of experiments to be conducted. There is presently no cold room facility at ACRI where the temperatures can be changed accurately for this type of experimental work. Ranges of cold and cool temperatures need to be generated to determine the severity of their impacts on different stages of cotton crop development. In addition to this, other cold rooms at ACRI are being used for storage of experimental material, and temperatures cannot be changed.

The concepts associated with Integrated Pest Management (IPM) are central to insect control and management across the Australian cotton industry. This report outlines the results of a survey conducted to explore IPM practices with agronomic consultants during August and September, 2001.

The survey covered five broad areas of IPM; aphid management, endosulplian usage, IPM guidelines and practices, area wide management groups and the management of beneficial insects and spiders. Survey respondents were drawn from across the cotton growing districts of Australia, with 35 Cotton Consultants Australia members contributing survey data.

This document provides a brief outline of the projects CRDC invested in for 2016-17 (current as of May 2016).

The 2018 Australian Cotton Comparative Analysis (ACCA) is the fourteenth report produced by Boyce Chartered Accountants in conjunction with the Cotton Research & Development Corporation (CRDC). From 1986 to 2004 the report was compiled independently by Boyce. Having over 30 years of data in the same format for any industry is a valuable resource.

In this report, an analytical review of the 2018 results, a comparison with prior years, and comments on emerging trends is presented.

Financial analysis using comparative statistics helps farmers identify relative strengths and weaknesses; accompanying budgets and long term business plans will then focus on ways to overcome weaknesses and build on strengths. In other words, this Comparative Analysis is a management tool to implement change and to identify where effort should be directed on a day to day basis.

This analysis does not provide all the answers - it is a benchmark or a standard to strive for. It is up to management to develop and implement specific action plans based on improved knowledge to set and achieve new goals.

The reliable, independent figures in the Comparative Analysis provide the starting point for farmers to develop "best practice".

This analysis has been running since 1986 so if growers or other interested parties require more long term data and analysis, please contact Boyce Chartered Accountants to discuss the results and to clarify any queries so that we all develop a deeper understanding of the industry.

The objective of the project was to provide additional temporary accommodation for personnel and equipment. A 36sq meter demountable building was purchased and located adjacent to insectary number 2. Services were connected and some internal fit out was made. The building successfully provided the extra accommodation required by researchers.

The winter edition of CRDC's magazine, Spotlight, investigates the issue of big data and the evolution from precision agriculture to decision agriculture.

The Australian Cotton Comparative Analysis provides the industry benchmark for the economics of cotton growing in Australia. The report focuses on the economics of the 2018 crop from growers across the different cotton-growing valleys. It also presents trends that have been measured against more than ten years of data, and, for the third year, includes per bale figures.

The Cotton Comparative Analysis is a joint initiative of CRDC and Boyce Chartered Accountants.

The primary focus of this project is to develop sustainable, IPM based pest management systems for INGARD in north-western Australia. Key elements for the system include companion crop utilisation, pest threshold refinement in winter cotton and appropriate refuge crop options for the development of a regional Bt resistance management strategy.

Northern Australia offers potential for cotton industry development with an annual production value estimated to be $750M. However, past failures demonstrate the importance of rigorous industry planning and research to develop sustainable and ecologically sound management systems, particularly for insect pests.

The cotton industry relies on HVI measurements of cotton fibre quality for commercial trading. The current scoping study has confirmed the influence of cotton fibre length on the HVI Strength measurement i.e. cottons with longer fibre length characteristics appear to be artificially stronger in the HVI test than similar shorter cottons.

The methodology for this study utilised one cotton parent cut to produce a range of samples with different fibre length characteristics. Detailed single fibre testing confirmed that fibre strength and elongation values for the samples prepared at different lengths were the same i.e. the sample preparation technique of cutting the cotton sliver did not introduce any other unexpected damage of the cotton. The HVI measured strength values did vary between samples exhibiting a clear dependence on fibre length. Combining these two observations, it was concluded that the observed variation in the HVI strength values must be an artefact of the instrument test method.

The source of this error has been identified. The natural variation is the individual lengths of fibres with a cotton samples is such that in the HVI test some of the fibres will not fully span the distance between the two sets of breaking jaws. Thus the parameters.instrument will always have a tendance to slightly underestimate the breaking strength of the beard. Existing protocols to account of this through the current general calibration processes has been shown to be inadequate as the effect is dependent on the specific fibre length properties of individual cottons.

A first principle approach for correcting for this error was developed based on a detailed examination of both the internal operation of the HVI Strength Module and knowledge of the shape of the fibre length distribution. This resulted in the identification of a simple correction factor. Application of this correction factor removed the effect of fibre length on the corrected strength values.

This study also identified that the HVI Fibre Elongation values also contain a significant bias due to fibre length.

Adoption of the outcomes of this work will allow a more accurate determination of fibre strength and elongation which are important fibre quality