Home > NORpak 17th June 2007

Media Release 17th May 2007

Innovative Approach Published for Growing Cotton in Northern Australia.

An innovative and successful approach to growing cotton in Northern Australia has been developed.

The Cotton Catchment Communities CRC partners have been undertaking research at Kununurra in the Ord River irrigation area of Western Australia for the past ten years and the results are captured in a new publication NORpak. This publication was launched today by the Western Australian Chief Scientist Professor Lyn Beazley at the Cooperative Research Association Conference in Perth.

Cotton CRC Chief Executive Officer Guy Roth said “ A novel production system is proposed based on transgenic varieties to control caterpillar pests, switching from a summer wet season crop to a winter dry season system which relies on integrated pest management, rather than the use of insecticides.”

“Over $10 million has been invested in this research, exploring many facets of cotton production including crop husbandry, pest management and environmental issues. This has been an intensive on ground research program rather than a desktop model lead by Geoff Strickland Department of Agriculture and Food in Western Australia and Stephen Yeates at CSIRO.

“The result is that the worlds best cotton yields can be grown with yields embracing 9.5 to 10.5 bales/hectare. This compares very favourably with the world average of five bales/hectare and with other Australian yields which are the highest in the world.

“ NORpak captures results from commercial scale research, conducted over the last decade, investigating dry season cotton production in the Ord River Irrigation Area. It will be an invaluable resource for everyone discussing irrigated agriculture in Northern Australia.

“Cotton is a feasible and sustainable crop for farmers to grow, and would provide significant employment and infrastructure investment opportunities in the Kimberley region of Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

“It is proposed that cotton could be grown in rotation with other crops such as sugar, horticulture and grains, as all are vital to the economic progress of the Ord. Farmers will need crop choices and systems to help them compete in the world market and local farmers should decide which crops to grow.

“This report is timely as the Federal Government’s Task Force on Agriculture in Northern Australia considers its options and the Western Australian Government’s review on transgenic crops needs robust information for the public debate and policy formation.

“This 10 year research program is a great example of how Cooperative Research Centres bring together expertise of Government and commercial partners. Key amongst these are the Department of Agriculture & Food, CSIRO, the Australian Cotton CRC, Cotton Research & Development Corporation, Colly Cotton, Ord River District Cooperative, Cotton Seed Distributors and Monsanto Australia” Guy Roth concluded.

For further information: Guy Roth 0417 223 179.