To optimize catches of Heliothis punctigera and H. armigera pheromone blends, dispenser and trap design have been evaluated and modified over a.7 year period.

In agriculture we often hear reports of new wonder varieties that are about.to revolutionise agriculture, yet when these varieties are released, if.indeed they are released, they seem to fall far short of the publicit

The high quality cotton Namcala and its predecessor Hopicala have traditionally been grown on small percentages of the Australian cotton acreage (Mainly in NSW) as an alternative to the high yielding varieties such as

Bacterial blight [Xanthomonas campestris pv. malvacearum (Smith 1901) Dye.1972], of cotton produces angular spots on leaves and squares, causes defoliation, lesions on sterns and bolls and reduces yield.

Resistance is seen as a manifestation of the most basic property of life, namely the capacity of organisms to evolve in response to changing environmental conditions and to adapt to new circumstances.

Commercial cotton crops in the major New South Wales production areas were inspected during the 1983/84 growing season.

Catches in pheromone traps can provide two types of information of interest to growers and researchers.

By now most people in the cotton industry have formed an opinion about Siratac as a concept and Siratac as a Company.

At Narrabri we are continuing our breeding program to develop locally adapted early maturing varieties.

The adult stages of the two Heliothis species found most abundantly in the summer cropping areas of Australia (H. armigera and .H. punctigera) are easily distinguishable and have been so for some time.

A knowledge of dispersal is essential to an understanding of population control and to the management of insecticide resistance.

Intense selection pressure has led to the development of insecticide resistance

Numerous studies on the effect of the nectariless gene on insect pests of cotton have been carried out both overseas and in Australia.

In 1981 we released SICOT 3 to the industry.

In recent years sap-sucking bugs have been associated with early season damage.to cotton crops in most of the production centres in New South Wales and Queensland.

With increasing problems of resistance to chemical pesticides amongst cotton pests, especially Heliothis, more attention is being given to biological control agents, including pathogens.

With the appearance of pvrethroid resistance in Heliothis armigera during the 1992/3 cropping season a strategy aimed at limiting the development of widespread resistance was rapidly implemented .H.

This 3 year study examined the relationships between catches of Heliothis adults in monitoring traps and the abundance of eggs on cotton crops.

* Testing various versions of SIRATAC on a commercial scale. * Ptoviding a database of the response of cotton to damage. *Comparing the response of the new varieties Siokra and DP90 with DP61.