A raising of the quality base and increasing levels of discounts impact significantly on the profitability of dryland cotton.

There are significant price and profitability challenges for Australian cotton at present and likely into the future.

The 13th Australasian Plant Breeding Conference was held in Christchurch NZ, April 18-21. This

is the primary conference relating to plant breeding activities in Australia and New Zealand and

Sicot F-1 is a new cotton variety released in 2004. It has been developed specifically in response to the appearance of a new unique strain of the Fusarium wilt pathogen in Australia.

This paper aims to present the breeder's understanding of fibre and variety characteristics for the next decade.