The intention of this report is to provide the Australian Cotton Industry with information on the performance of the 2008 crop in regard to content and short fibre content as tested by the AFIS PRO instrument, finenes

The following industry take home messages are a summary of practical findings pertinent

to growers and industry personnel:

This project aimed to identify means to improve nutrient use-efficiency in Australian cotton production systems and to improve soil health/fertility.

A preliminary water balance was carried out for the Maules Creek catchment to assist in the establishment of an appropriate conceptual model for the aquifer-river system.

Expectations for industries to manage resources in a sustainable manner raise the question of how industries can demonstrate their sustainability credentials.

n September 2006 the Namoi Catchment Management Authority (Namoi CMA) and

the Cotton Catchment Communities Cooperative Research Centre (Cotton CRC)

Improving the efficiency of water use in agriculture is increasingly essential to maintain the

profitability and sustainability of farms. This involves applying only the minimum necessary

iv

Abstract

Whereas the use of gypsum for the amelioration of sodic soils under dryland and

irrigated agricultural systems has been relatively well studied, experiments investigating lime

The Murray Darling Basin is Australia’s largest agricultural area and a major user of water for irrigation.

This project has tackled the scientific challenge of predicting the key parameters of interest to the spinning mill manager from fibre quality measurements.

The National Program for Sustainable Irrigation (NPSl) and Irrigation Australia Limited

(IAL) engaged GHD Hassallto develop a framework for future irrigation research,

The National Program for Sustainable Irrigation and its

predecessors have invested in irrigation research for nearly two

decades covering topics at the field, farm and catchment scales; and

Australia's water resources are in a serious state, both in reduced quantity and declining quality due to

In order to maintain its premium in the world cotton market it will be important for Australia

to extend its position as a preferred supplier of high quality fibre. Australian cotton is

The purpose of my visit was to attend the conference in Auckland New Zealand.

The International Plant Nutrition Colloquium is the major international plant

nutrition conference, held every four years. This year the 16th IPNC, entitled

This is the third of our four reports for the Cotton Catchment Communities CRC project entitled: Innovative Regional Businesses and Options for Economic Growth in Cotton Communities. It has two components.

I. To evaluate the risk of Q-biotype whitefly for Australia: Q-biotype identifications in Australia have not been verified by other methods or researchers.

‘Cotton Fusarium Wilt Management’, had a number of objectives to obtain data to improve the management of this disease.

The primary aim of this project has been to benchmark greenhouse gas emissions across the cotton industry and develop guidelines which potentially reduce nitrous oxide, and associated non-global warming nitrogen gases