This project was prompted by disappointingly low cotton yields at Emerald and other Central Queensland centres.

Reducing the costs of pest management may be looked at in two ways. These are the actual reduction of chemical costs which must be balanced against the need to maintain or enhance yield.

The renewed interest in non-irrigated cotton production in recent years led us to undertake co-operative cultivar trials, commencing in 1981/82.

Firstly, it is important to define "Minimum Tillage" as it applies to our operation. Our objective in achieving such a system is more correctly described as a "Permanent Bed'' system i.e.

Of the five species of Heliothis in Australia, only two, Heliothis armigera and H. punctigera are major economic pests. They are clearly the major pests of cotton in all production areas.