One of the major objectives of the cotton industry is to reduce dependence on insecticides. This may be achieved by incorporating parasitoids into the pest management strategy.

As new insecticides for cotton pests are developed, it is important that the cotton industry has its own independent assessment of their effect on beneficial fauna.

Australia-wide insecticide resistance surveying of cotton aphid populations identified pirimicarb, organophosphate, endosulfan and pyrethroid resistance.

In the irrigated cotton-growing areas of south eastern Australia, there is an increasing awareness for the need for land resource information and its importance for environmental management.

Plants can utilise an array of biochemical mechanisms to protect themselves against viral, bacterial, fungal and nematode pathogens.