After three years of the joint research program, a system of best management practices was identified as the best way of achieving the second and third goals. It was therefore decided to create a user friendly, practical manual for cotton farmers that contains the best management practices available so as to minimise the impact of pesticides on the riverine environment (for example, by minimising the transport of pesticides off farm).

This project sets out to address some of the problems associated with growing dryland cotton using reduced and notillage practices, and look for possible solutions which will allow cotton to be integrated into sustainable farming systems for these important production areas.

Australian isolates of Fov have been characterised by using: pathogenicity tests with differential and local cotton lines ; vegetative compatibility groups (VCG) analyses and DNA amplification fingerprinting (DAF) analysis. Vegetative compatibility groups and DNA fingerprints of overseas isolates of the fungus have also been compared with those of Australian isolates of Fov.

The purpose of this work is to develop a technique for standard quantitative soil structural assessment using horizontal image analysis. The SOLICON (Moran et al., l 989a) soil structure evaluation system has been developed further to enable horizontal soil sections to be analysed and classified. Using this new system, SOLICON 2, images of soil collected from the field can be measured and classified in relation to a library of structures. This computer aided system involves the collection, processing, analysis and classification of images that represent the field condition of the soil pore structure in specific horizons.

The question for plant breeders is how do we set priority in a breeding program which meet the fibre quality needs of everyone in the market place while developing competitive high yielding varieties? Fibre quality parameters are complex and plant breeders need to consider various issues when setting priorities and making decisions on fibre quality.

Rapid changes in cotton farming practices and the introduction of new synthetic insecticides and control strategies over the last 10-15 years are likely to have led to significant changes in the species diversity and abundance of beneficial crop canopy insects, soil fauna and soil microflora. However, there have been no studies investigating the effects of these changes in Australian cotton farming practices on beneficial soil fauna since the 1970s and early 1980s (Bishop and Blood 1977; Room 1977; Bishop and Blood 1980). As the Australian cotton industry strives to develop more viable, sustainable and environmentally responsible farming and crop protection practices, detailed and up to date knowledge of the key functional groups of soil fauna and their respective contributions to the cotton agroecosystem performance becomes increasingly essential. The objectives of this baseline research project, which started late in the 1993-94 growing season, were to: (a) develop a soil fauna sampling protocol for cotton agroecosystems, (b) enumerate the principal ecological groups of soil fauna present and (c) for chosen groups, characterise and compare the resultant short term changes in soil fauna biodiversity under different farming and crop protection practices. For the 1995-96 cotton growing season the effects of cotton production on the biodiversity of surface-active soil meso- and macrofauna were studied using pitfall traps and soil cores in single irrigated cotton fields at &quote;Doreen&quote; and at the Australian Cotton Research Institute (Environfeast demonstration field). Here we report on the results for the soil predators component of the 1995-96 season at &quote;Doreen&quote;.

B-type Bemisia tabaci, known commonly as the 'silver leaf white fly' is in Australia and becoming more widespread. The silver leaf whitefly was first detected in Australia in October 1994. It is now established in the Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales. This species damages crops through the effects of its feeding, through the effects of the honeydew it produces, which causes moulds on leaves and contaminates cotton lint, and through the spread of geminiviruses. Among the geminiviruses of potential concern to the cotton industry is the cotton leaf curl virus currently causing serious problems in cotton producing regions of Pakistan. Two other whitefly species are often encountered in cotton regions, the native Bemisia tabaci and the greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum. A recent brochure &quote;Silver leaf Whitefly: A potential problem for Australian crops&quote;, produced by the CSIRO Division of Entomology, illustrates and describes the differences between these whitefly species(copies can be obtained from Dr De Barro). Overseas, the silver leaf whitefly has rapidly developed resistance to a wide range of insecticides. Given these experiences, and the evidence that the B biotype in Australia is resistant to organophosphate, carbamate and many synthetic pyrethroid insecticides (Robin Gunning, NSW Agriculture pers. comm), sole reliance on chemical insecticides is unlikely to lead to long term control. The common experience in areas where such a situation has prevailed has been the rapid selection of populations that are resistant to the insecticides applied. This is true not only for the conventional insecticides but also for the new novel chemistries such imidacloprid, buprofezin and pyriproxifen. In such circumstances, management becomes extremely difficult. In contrast, in regions where insecticides have not been the sole means of control, natural enemies, both introduced and native, have proven to be effective in reducing damage.

Where does the Australian cotton industry see itself in ten years time? What challenges will it face? How will it address those challenges?

Microplitis demolitor (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is a mid to late season parasitoid of Helicoverpa spp. larvae. Female M. demolitor prefer to lay eggs in second instar larvae. The host larva is killed before serious damage has been done to the crop and where any reasonable reduction in numbers will be important. Parasitised larvae effectively stop feeding and consume only about 10% of that consumed by healthy larvae (Murray and Rynne, 1992). Numbers of M.demolitor can build up very rapidly in the field. The cotton industry is committed to reducing the use of insecticides because of the economic and environmental costs. With the imminent release of Bt cotton, a very real reduction in insecticide use is expected. Due to reduced expression of Bt toxins in Bt cotton late season (Fitt, 1996), the action of natural enemies should be encouraged at this time. Use of insecticides that disrupt natural enemies should be reduced, however, data on the effects of many insecticides on beneficial insects are lacking under Australian conditions.

The National Farmers' Federation represents a substantial proportion of Australia's 120,000 farming operations around the country, and those farmers represent just about every sector of the rural industry. Through its structure, NFF receives feedback on every major commodity through their representative bodies and State organisations, and policy is formulated to cover the entire industry. Over-riding all of our decisions and action is a vision for Australian agriculture as profitable, environmentally sustainable and competitive. To achieve that vision, our operations are both pro-active and reactive.