Cotton production in Australia occurs mainly in cracking clay soils. In the past, it was widely assumed that deep drainage was negligible in these soils (Hearn, 2000).

Black rootrot of cotton has been observed in 98 per cent of the farms regularly surveyed by NSW Agriculture in the Macquarie, Namoi, Gwydir and Macintyre valleys.

Cotton is the most important textile crop due to its cellulose-enriched mature fibres, single celled hairs derived from ovule epidermis at anthesis.

Madame Chairperson, ladies and gentleman, good morning and welcome to my presentation on Profitability and Sustainability.

Cotton production worldwide uses 11 per cent of global insecticides each year and the trend continues to increase (Pesticide News, 2001).