cotton - Greenmount Press

In this issue...
Refuge crops – investing
in cotton’s future
The introduction of transgenic cotton in
1996 has allowed the industry to totally
revolutionise the way cotton is produced.
Over 90 per cent of the cotton grown in Australia in 2012
utilised Bollgard II technology, making it arguably the most
important technology the industry uses
See story................................................................... Page 14
Vip3A resistance genes:
A threat to Bollgard III
The insecticides engineered into
transgenic cotton come from a soil
bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis
(Bt) which produces several different types of toxins. The two
toxins in the current variety of Bt-cotton are crystalline or Cry
toxins (Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab). Genes that enable resistance to Cry
toxins were detected by CSIRO in populations of Helicoverpa
species even before these insects were exposed to Bt cotton.
See story................................................................... Page 17
The contribution of new varieties to
cotton yield improvement
Analysis of a large data set of CSIRO
cotton breeding experiments over 30
years has demonstrated a number of
interesting trends. There have been yield
increases from new varieties and from
crop management. But there has also been an interaction
between breeding and management in that new varieties
respond more to modern management than old varieties do.
Resistance to diseases is an important component of that
interaction.
See story................................................................... Page 20
Managing glyphosate resistant weeds
in summer cropping systems
The 2012–13 summer will see
a new chapter unfold for many
cotton growers, as well as other
farmers in the northern cropping
areas. It might be a good cropping
season, but it will almost certainly
be a season of frustration, with more and more weed control
failures following glyphosate applications..
See story................................................................... Page 44
The essentials for
cotton in the Burdekin
In this article we tell the story
of some of Burdekin growers
pioneering cotton and how their
partnership with local R&D is
progressing robust production
practices for this unique cotton growing environment.
See story................................................................... Page 49
FIRE
SUPPRESSION
UNIT
Our fire suppression systems
are effective, easy to use
and non toxic
Benefits:
u Fits onto existing cotton
pickers.
u No specialised wiring required.
u Comes with an additional back
up system.
How it works:
u System deploys foam in
accumulator and bailer
simultaneously for 60 seconds
and additional time if needed,
depending on the volume of
water in the water tank.
u The system discharges
continuous foam through 4
nozzles to rapidly wet cotton
and surrounding surfaces to
prevent heat generation, thus
allowing time for the operator
to discharge the round bales.
u The system then draws water
from the water tank giving
further suppression. It can use
up to 1300 litres.
Installation:
u System can be purchased
singularly or alternatively, can
be fully installed to the picker
by our team.
u A gauge indicates the system
charge level.
u The system can be recharged
when required.
Contact:
Munro Cotton Pty Ltd
Office – 02 6751 1533
Mobile – 0428 657 033
December 2012–January 2013 The Australian Cottongrower — 3