Project overview

Soil-borne diseases such as Verticillium wilt, Fusarium wilt, and Black Root Rot (BRR) continue to cause major yield losses across Australian cotton regions. Building on the success of Disease Initiative phases 1 and 2, RWI020 – Cotton Disease Solutions expands this work into a comprehensive, systems-based approach that connects soil management, rotations, plant nutrition, and crop performance over multiple seasons. 

This initiative will maintain long-term sentinel sites, establish new intensive monitoring farms, and undertake significant numbers of soil samples each year to track inoculum changes. By overlaying disease heatmaps with yield maps, NDVI, and soil data, the project will help growers understand not just where disease is present, but why it persists, and which management strategies sustainably reduce risk. 

Supported by strong grower co-design and industry partnerships, this project will deliver practical guidelines, case studies, regional disease forums, and integrated decision-support insights to help growers improve resilience and profitability across diverse farming systems. 

Outcomes and achievements

• Established multi-year sentinel monitoring sites across major cotton valleys. 
• Developed field-scale trials evaluating rotations (brassicas, pulses, multispecies covers) for inoculum suppression. 
• Conducting soil tests annually through Crown Analytical Services. 
• Integrating disease mapping with yield and crop growth data for whole-of-system insights. 
• Delivering extension through disease forums, case studies, grower workshops, and industry communication channels. 

Project status

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