Despite the good rainfall making a field visit impossible, another highly successful field day was hosted by CSD and the Lower Namoi Cotton Growers Association this year.
 
With full profiles of moisture, the cotton outlook for next year has raised enthusiasm in the industry. Around 100 growers, consultants, university students, researcher and other industry personnel attended the field day, which was held indoors at CSD’s seed production facilities, due to the wet weather.
 
The field day was organised by CSD’s Extension team with presentations from CSIRO and NSW Department of Primary Industries researchers, as well as an update from Cotton Australia. Held every year, the field day is a showcase of the latest technology, research and breeding associated with cotton production, bringing the industry together for a “hands and boots in the field” experience. 
 
In 2020, presenters included:
 

Dr Warwick Stiller & Dr Shiming Liu (both CSIRO) – cotton breeding overview
Dr Carlos Trapero (CSIRO) – host plant resistance research
Dr Warren Conaty (CSIRO) – abiotic stress research
Bob Ford, Chris Teague, Alice Curkpatrick, Craig McDonald and Angus Marshall (CSD) – Ambassador Network Program outcomes  
Dr Hiz Jamali & Chris Nunn (both CSIRO) – managing limited water with canopy sensors
Jono Baird (NSW DPI) – optimising cotton nutrition for modern cultivars
Dr Karen Kirby (NSW DPI) – managing Verticillium risk outcomes
Bob Ford (CSD) – tackling Verticillium wilt from a management perspective
Lucy Brennan (Cotton Australia) – ‘Rebuilding Trust’ strategy

 
CSD also provided a demonstration of some of the new online tools and apps that are under development as part of CSD’s Digital Agriculture Solutions program, such as ‘BARRY’ (Biometric Agronomy for Realising Representative Yield), a tool that can be used to assess yield potential at key growth stages. CSD members will have exclusive access to these tools from 1 July, 2020 – for details on how to become a member, visit: www.csd.net.au/membership

 
Attendees were also provided with a summary booklet on each of these topics, as well as details on CSD’s discovery trial program, as well as disease, insecticide and delayed flowering trials currently underway on CSD Farms and in commercial trials across the industry. For further details, or to download a copy, visit: www.csd.net.au/documents/presentations