The Australian cotton industry depends heavily on genetically engineered Bt cotton (currently in the form of Bollgard II®) which provides resistance to the key pests of cotton, larvae of the moths Helicoverpa armigera

Transgenic (Bt) cotton has provided major benefits for the Australia cotton industry (e.g. control of Helicoverpa and reduced pesticide use), but the possibility of Bt resistance in these insects is a major threat.

Even though large scale planting of Bt cotton started a decade ago, consequences on a landscape-scale have hardly been studied. Helicoverpa armigera and H.

The Sicala 340BRF fibre grown commercially over the last three seasons generally produced a fibre with variable quality.

Since the introduction of Bt-cotton secondary pests such as aphids, mites and bugs have become more prominent requiring targeted insecticide control.