Overall reasons for travel to the USA include: Participate in a visit to the Valent Company to investigate growth regulators for future cotton research; visit with Cotton Inc. to maintain and enhance cotton research collaborations; meet with Gaylon Morgan (Texas cotton specialist) to discuss opportunities for collaborative research; and undertake collaborative research (data analysis) with USDA crop stress laboratory colleagues in Lubbock. Collaborative funding is being used to cover expenses associated with the visit of three Australian Scientistsvisit to Lubbock and North Carolina. Valent are covering costs to Chicago to visit with researchers and their research farm.

This specific travel funding request is to assist with a small trip to College Station Texas to visit with researchers at Texas A&M University. This support is not covered by the USDA support previously outlined above. This investment will enablen Dr Bange to meet with Gaylon Morgan (Texas cotton specialist). Dr Bange is also very keen to collaborate more. Stronger collaborations will be developed by meeting with new researchers in cotton at Texas A&M to understand their current research foci. This is especially important since Dr Tom Cothren passed away last year. Dr cothren was our main research collaborator in physiology in Texas. Dr Cothren was previously one of Nicola Cottee’s PhD Supervisor and has hosted a number of Australian researchers at College Station undertaking research.

Overall outcomes to be achieved:1. Identify new research collaboration opportunities with Cotton Inc. in conjunction with CRDC.

2. Identify growth regulators needed for future cotton research in Australia.

3. Continue analysis of research data with USDA colleagues in the area of environmental stress on fibre quality.

Specific outcome relating to this project request is:

1. Identify new research collaboration opportunities with Texas A&M cotton research efforts.