Page 9 - 21 Cotton SA February 2020

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decline from US$5,5 billion in 2017/18 to and Alan McClay, CEO of the Better Cotton
US$5,4 billion in 2018/19, with 2018/19 Initiative.
assistance averaged at 16 cents per pound Annette Bennett attended a two-day field trip to
Toowoomba with delegates from other countries,
A full statement of the ICAC’s 78th plenary and observed cotton plantings, drone release of
meeting can be found on its website (icac.org). beneficial insects, and robotic spraying methods
The topic of the 2020 technical seminar will being introduced by Australian farmers. The
be “Advances and challenges of hybrid cotton group visited Bayer’s laboratory in Toowoomba,
technology”, and the meeting will take place in and was updated on current research on cotton.
November 2020 in Seville, Spain. New technologies for surface irrigation sensing,
The Cotton SA delegation established yield prediction by means of “VARIwise”, and
connections with Peter Graham, the managing precision weed spraying were demonstrated.
director of Cotton Seed Distributors (CSD), Issues in biosecurity were also discussed. A
and Brett Ross, CSD’s quality, research and demonstration was given of how the bollworm
international lead. They discussed strategies to colony is maintained and how field larvae are
introduce into South Africa Australian varieties screened for resistance. Participants appreciated
with new technologies to the benefit of South the valuable insights into Bayer’s research and
African producers. In addition, South African resistance management initiatives.
production methods, research, and seed were The Cotton SA dele-
discussed with Neil Forrester, a cotton specialist gation found their visit very
and consultant, Dr Kater Hake, vice president insightful and valued the
of Agricultural and Environmental Research at oppor tunity to be able to
Cotton Incorporated in Cary, North Carolina, attend the meeting.

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Volume 22 No 1 February 2020 | 9