The presence, compatibility and biodegradability in the environment of pervasive textile materials microfibers shed during laundering or use has been increasingly recognized as an important environmental issue. Textile materials that biodegrade are greatly advantageous relative to those that are not. In this research, the influence of typical textile finishes on the persistence of cotton fibers in aquatic environment has been assessed in aerobic conditions using an RSA PF-8000 respirometer (ISO 14851) using an inoculum of activated sludge at low concentration (30 ppm of total suspended solids). The presence of the finishes alters the surface chemistry of the fibers and their biodegradation rate in aquatic environments. Fibers and fragments of the same cotton knitted fabrics (interlock) without a finish and with different finishes such as durable press, silicone softener, C6 based fluorinated (Non-PFOA) water repellent, and a dye (blue 19) were tracked and fit to kinetic biodegradation models. relative to cotton fabrics without treatments. The biodegradation of fabrics with some levels of crosslinking in the finishing treatment was more affected than other finishes. Cotton fibers with water repellent finish have the longest lag-phase (λ) in which the biodegradation is delayed initially, whereas cotton fabrics with durable press finish had the lowest degradation rate (R) and degraded the least among the samples. Despite the differences in rate, all the cotton samples reached more than 60% biodegradation in 102 days; in fact, the cotton fibers with silicone softener degraded by 90%. The biodegradation rates extents with respect to the different samples are in agreement with the observed trends of the same samples for cellulase hydrolysis and cellulase adsorption experiments (Cellulclast, a cellulase mixture from Trichoderma reesi). This indicates that the finishes decrease the adsorption of enzymes excreted by the microorganisms and the initial rates of biodegradation relative to untreated cotton but that the cellulosic material maintains its biodegradability.

Evaporation of water from open storages is a national problem impacting water security. This is particularly a problem for farmers where evaporation losses are estimated to be above 1,320 GL/year. Cotton industry research shows that these evaporation losses contribute significantly to the amount of water consumed by farmers, estimated between 20-40 %. Monolayer technology has been explored as an alternative to mechanical structures which are limited to small storages (<10 ha) due to their high capital and maintenance costs. Ultra-thin monolayers spread out across the water forming a thin layer which reduces evaporative losses. They have little to no capital costs, can be used only when needed, and can be used on storages of all shapes and sizes, as well as irrigation channels. They are therefore a potentially cost-effective method of reducing this evaporative loss. However, current commercial products have low performance, are readily disrupted by wind and need to be frequently reapplied.

The research team at The University of Melbourne (UniMelb) has previously developed new technology for monolayers to reduce evaporation losses. Testing in the laboratory and small-scale field trials demonstrated savings of up to 40-60% could be obtained under favourable conditions. However, larger scale trials on cotton farm dams identified that there is a critical wind speed threshold for monolayer performance. On storages of ~10 hectares this threshold was identified as 3 m/s: below this threshold the monolayer could achieve evaporation savings of up to 20%. Above this threshold the monolayer failed. This project aimed to understand the mechanism behind the failure of the monolayer at elevated wind speeds and investigate methods to increase the ability of the monolayer to maintain performance at higher wind speeds.

The project has developed a new approach to reduce the impact of wind which causes wind shear and waves, reducing the performance of the monolayer. The new approach was designed and their impacts on monolayer performance were tested.

A series of trials was conducted in a 15 m wind/wave facility in the Michell Hydrodynamics Laboratory at the University of Melbourne. These trials used mechanically produced waves to investigate the separate effects of wind and waves on monolayer behaviour and as such lead to an improved understanding of the monolayer failure mechanism. This information was then used to develop strategies to improve monolayer performance, with prototypes of the new approach tested in the wind/wave facility. It was demonstrated that the negative impact of wind and waves could be reduced, leading to the potential for improved monolayer performance.

For more information please contact Professor Greg Qiao, Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, gregghq@unimelb.edu.au, Ph: (03) 8344 8665

This document provides a brief outline of the projects CRDC has invested in for 2021-22 (current as of May 2021).

The CRDC Sustainability Repository and Data Graph Builder system has been designed and developed to ease the workload of CRDC and other relevant staff to collect and process the sustainability reporting data on Australian Cotton indicators and targets. The Australian research body on Cotton, CRDC (Cotton Research and Development Corporation) publishes data about 120 cotton indicators on a quadrennial sustainability report explaining their sustainable practices on Australian cotton farms. The standard practice is to utilize a manual approach to extract information from heterogeneous sources.

Industries like Agriculture, where the IT resources are scarce, may not possess a centralized repository with temporal and spatial information. This becomes more difficult when the data is scattered over diverse locations in diverse formats. The QUT-CRDC project (2016 – 2019) started with collecting information on various social, environmental and economic indicators and targets, and proposing new ones where applicable. The final component of the project focused on studying the feasibilities of using heterogeneous data sources to extract useful knowledge on cotton indicators and propose an autonomous system that allows to collect, extract, process and query the relevant sustainability indicators information. A data source can be a pdf document, a doc file, an excel sheet or a html page that may contain relevant information for cotton indicators.

In this project, a novel data mining based methodology has been developed to automate the data acquisition, processing and reporting of cotton sustainability indicators information that may be available on multiple heterogeneous data sources. The intuitive tool based on this methodology provides access to social, economic and environmental sustainability indicators, enabling users to generate information and graphics that communicate repository query results to stakeholders efficiently and effectively.

The project team consisted of experts on data mining, software engineering, visualization, environmental science, and design science.

This report gives a brief description of the prototype of the “Sustainability Repository and Data Graph Builder” system.

Each year, Crop Consultants Australia - with support from CRDC - conduct a qualitative survey of cotton consultants regarding their practices and attitudes, as well as those of their cotton grower clients. The resulting report provides valuable information to the Australian cotton industry regarding on-farm practices , helping to benchmark the industry's performance in a range of key areas over time. This report, published in Jan 2022, looks at the 2020-21 cotton growing season.

The International Plant Nutrition Colloquium is the major international plant

nutrition conference, held every four years. This year the 16th IPNC, entitled

“Healthy Plants, Healthy Planet” was held in Sacramento, California and was

attended by people from 45 different countries. As a part of the session

“Nutrient acquisition, homeostasis and source-sink relations” the paper

Nitrogen allocation in high yielding Bollgard II ® cotton was presented as a

poster, with the corresponding paper published in the conference

proceedings. The information presented at the conference and also gained

through informal discussions with other conference participants will greatly

enhance the experimental techniques, methodologies used and analysis of the

results in my PhD. The exposure to a wider international research community

and the chance to meet and talk with these scientists was something which

could only have been possible in the context of a major international

conference like this one, and was a great opportunity for a young PhD

student!

Australia's water resources are in a serious state, both in reduced quantity and declining quality due to

rising salinity levels. In the future, the availability of good quality irrigation water resources will be exposed

to further risk from reduced rainfall and increased evaporative demand as a result of dimate change. To

ensure sustainable crop production in the future. it is imperative that rrore efficient methods of irrigation

are identified and theirimpaclon water use, rootzone salinky and nutrientloss thoroughly evaluated.

The aim of this project was to increase our understanding of the effects of supplementing saline water

sources, such as winery wastewater, for irrigation of vines and orchards. The project specifically

addressed the impacts of saline and wastewater application via drip irrigation on soil salt distribution.

These outcomes were achieved through the monitoring of existing field sites and the interpretation of

current dabsets.

Four sites, allocated in South Australia, were investigated during the course of this project. Each site has

been treated as a separate module in this report. The sites under investigation were:

. MCLaren Vale (vineyard). The site was subdivided into two sites (BBl and BB2) which were

irrigated with reclaimed water from the Willunga Basin Water Company using conventional and sub

surface drip irrigation, respectively.

. Willunga (almond orchard). The site was drip irrigated using saline bore water from three surface

dripper lines (site SS, ) and from a single surface dripperline (site SS2).

. Currency Creek (vineyard). The site was subdivided into fourtreatment blocks each irrigated with

Finniss River water using conventional drip irrigation. Treatment I received water from rainfall and

irrigation, plus an additional Ieaching irrigation, Treatment 2 received the same as Treatment I plus

mulch, Treainient 3 received water from rainfall and irrigation, and Treatment 4 received the same

as Treatment 3 plus mulch.

. Langhome Creek (vineyard). The vineyard was irrigated with darn water from Lake Alexandrina

using conventional drip irrigation. As salinhy levels in Lake Alexandrina increased, the irrigation

water was mixed with less saline water from other sources.

Summary

Monitoring of salt distrlbution through the soil profiles was undertaken at each site using SoluSAMPLERN

solution extractors. The extractors were installed at 30, 60 and 90 cm depths at between three and seven

locations within each site. Where pre-existing data were available, the soil water solution electrical

conductivities (ECsw) measured were compared with electrical conductivity values determined from

saturated soil paste extracts (ECe) or 1:5 soil/water suspensions (ECts). Where possible, attempts were

made to establish the relationships between ECsw and ECe/EQ, 5 values at each site.

The data obtained were used to produce plots of the spatial and temporal EC distrlbutions through the root

zones. The outcomes from this project have led to an increased understanding of the impacts of using

saline and wastewater sources in conjunction with drip irrigation techniques. With the addition of further

monitoring and analyses, the results of this study will assist in overcoming the constraints of saline and

wastewater use imposed by its effects on salt distribution and soil properties.

The National Program for Sustainable Irrigation (NPSl) and Irrigation Australia Limited

(IAL) engaged GHD Hassallto develop a framework for future irrigation research,

development and extension (RD&E)in Australia, consisting of a vision, priorities,

implementation options and immediate actions.

The framework will aid the forward planning of RD&E delivery for the Industry and

assist the industry to contribute to several Australian Government Reviews considering

research and development and extension/knowledge management in 2010. This

initiative is particularly important given that there is no proposal for a national irrigation

RD&E organisation following the cessation of the CRC for Irrigation Futures (June

2010) and NPSl(June 2011).

Our Industry Vision

Australia's irrigation industry will contribute to supplying the increasing domestic and

global demand for food and fibre driven by growing population. At the same time, the

following pressures will continue to drive structural change in the configuration and

distribution of the industry:

* Securing access to increasingly scarce water resources;

* A maturing water market;

* Managing increasing costs of energy and the trade-offs at the interface between

energy, water and carbon;

* The need to sustain natural resources, including increased allocation of water for

the environment;

* Labour scarcity; and

* Competitive marketpressures.

The Australian irrigation industry has been at the forefront of improved water efficiency

by virtue of the inherent unreliability of the country's climate and the necessity of

adapting to prolonged droughts. Innovation and adaptation will ensure that the

industry responds rapidly and contributes to meeting demand for food and fibre and

addresses these challenges by increasing its productivity and sustaining and

harnessing its human and natural capital. By 2020 we will be the recognised global leader in profitable, competitive and sustainable irrigation, contributing to regional, national and global well-being.

Our RD&E Vision

RD&E will substantially contribute to Australia becoming the global leader in profitable,

competitive and sustainable irrigation, particularly in the integration of on-farm water

use efficiency and off-farm irrigation system modernisation. By 2020, Australia will

have achieved recognition as the global leader in irrigation knowledge and its

application. This will allow the industry to contribute to, and access, international

developments and innovations in irrigation RD&E. The industry will be recognised for

2/1/93221,59593 Future v1.10n and options for Irrigation RD&E

its past achievements and innovations and its unique body of knowledge grounded in

providing integrative and cross disciplinary solutions.

Industry, government and the research community will work collaborativeIy, resourced

by sufficiently sustainable investment, to focus on key priorities to deliver RD&E that

improves productivity and water use efficiency to address food security needs and

deliver environmental sustainability. Irrigation RD&E will also manage climate change

adaptation through irrigation modernisation and structural change to minimise negative

impacts on communities.

R&D will adapt and build on past achievements, achieving broad adoption across the

industry and rapid transfer of benefits to users, Australia's system of tradeable

perpetual water access entitlements provides a positive environment for future

investment in RD&E and improved infrastructure.

The Murray Darling Basin is Australia’s largest agricultural area and a major user of water for irrigation. The Basin’s capacity to supply water is fast reducing due to increased extraction for industrial uses, domestic supply and, most significantly, agricultural irrigation. The Basin contains approximately 72% of Australia’s irrigated crops; therefore irrigation needs to become more efficient in order to match supply with demand (MDBMC, 2007).

Recent droughts have increased investment in improving irrigation efficiency. A common measure of this efficiency is the ratio of seasonal crop water use to seasonal irrigation application. In order to assess whether increased investment is improving efficiency we need to develop accurate estimates of the rate of water use at the individual crop and district level.

The rate of water used by a crop, ET = evapotranspiration, depends on weather, growth stage and soil water availability. Crop yield is a function of water use. Crop water use can be estimated under well watered conditions as a function of reference crop evapotranspiration (ETo) and a set of crop coefficients. The coefficients (Kc) are crop specific. Crop evapotranspiration (ETc) is estimated as the product of the rate of reference crop evapotranspiration and the appropriate crop coefficient (ETc = ETo X Kc) (Allen et al., 1998). However the crop coefficient does not account for variations in canopy cover between different areas.

Reference crop evapotranspiration (ETo) is the evaporation from a grass reference crop without a shortage of water that shows certain characteristics (Allen et al., 1998). Climatic parameters are the only factors affecting ETo and so ETo can be calculated from weather data. The variations in the values of ETo with location and season reflect the temporal and spatial variation in the evaporative influence of the atmosphere. These values are not dependent on soil characteristics (Allen et al., 1998).

Evapotranspiration (ET) is the sum of evaporation and transpiration. It is the transport of water into the atmosphere from the earth’s surface. It is one of the main consumers of solar energy at the earth’s surface and is one of the most significant components of the hydrological cycle. The energy used for ET is often referred to as the latent heat flux (Burba et al., 2006).

Evaporation is the process whereby water is directly returned back into the atmosphere through evaporative loss from soil surfaces, standing water and other water surfaces. Transpiration is the process in which water is used by vegetation and consequently lost back to the atmosphere as water vapour. The water enters through the root zone of the plant and is then used for different biophysiological processes such as photosynthesis. Water then passes back to the atmosphere through the leaf stomata in the form of vapour. If the leaf becomes stressed to the wilting point, transpiration will stop (Burba et al., 2006).

Evapotranspiration is a function of soil water content (SWC), crop stage and canopy cover (CC). Matching supply with demand is a function of the rate at which water is being used by the plant and how water is being stored in the root zone. Supply will depend on SWC the sufficiency of which can be inferred from measurements of pre-dawn leaf water potentials, while water demand is dependent on crop growth stage and ET.

The eddy covariance technique (EC) is an atmospheric flux measurement technique used to measure and calculate vertical turbulent fluxes including wind speed within atmospheric boundary layers. An eddy covariance system generally measures carbon dioxide, air temperature, moisture and 3-D wind speed above a crop canopy. The net moisture flux is a

result of soil evaporation plus plant transpiration minus precipitation and condensation (Glen et al., 2008). The EC measurement represents the flux from a specific area of crop. The size and location of this area relative to the tower site depends on wind speed, wind direction, atmospheric stability and tower height above the canopy. The area is called flux footprint and is the upwind area which is the source of the atmospheric flux measured by the instruments (Glen et al., 2008).

The main source of variation in the tabulated values of Kc is the growth stage. At a given growth stage, the rate of water use by an individual vine, for example, is proportional to its canopy cover. However the tabulated values of Kc do not account for canopy cover variations between vineyards. The canopy cover of a vineyard can be estimated from remotely acquired measures of vegetative indices.

Vegetation indices are derived from measures of the way that plant canopies modify light radiation. The normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) is a widely known example of such an index. The NDVI is a numerical indicator used to detect live green plant canopies in multi-spectral remote sensing data. It is an index used to identify the condition of vegetation in different areas. The NDVI is calculated from the visible and near-infrared light reflected by vegetation (Weier and Herring, 2010).

The NDVI can be used as a measure of canopy cover (CC). Trout and Johnson (2007) and Trout et al. (2008) have shown that there is a strong connection between NDVI and CC as NDVI was found to increase linearly with canopy cover up to approximately 0.8. Therefore NDVI can be used as a surrogate for measures of CC. Ayars et al. (2003), Williams and Ayars (2005) and Goodwin et al. (2006) have shown that the crop water use of individual peach trees (which show similar characteristics to almond trees) and vines is linearly related to projected canopy cover.

Evapotranspiration data were collected using eddy covariance towers in a vineyard and an almond orchard between February 2007 and June 2009 in South Australia’s Riverland. The project aimed to use these comprehensive data sets to explore whether the water use of an entire vineyard and an entire almond orchard can be estimated from reference crop evapotranspiration and crop coefficients adjusted with satellite measures of NDVI to account for variations in canopy cover.