Two of the cotton industry’s leading innovators this season celebrate 10 years of collaboration on the tools and technologies that have transformed how this important crop is established in Australia.
“As growers in Central Queensland begin to plant, it’s timely that Syngenta and Cotton Seed Distributors reflect on the FastStart™ Cotton program and its achievements,” CSD Managing Director Peter Graham said.
“The FastStart Cotton program has delivered tools, training and technology that has saved the industry precious time and money from unnecessary crop failures inside the first 70 days from sowing.”
Syngenta Australia Country Head and Managing Director Paul Luxton said the collaboration between Syngenta and CSD has led to great outcomes for growers and the industry, highlighting the importance of this partnership.
“Sustainable and science-based agriculture is at the heart of everything we do at Syngenta, and the partnership with CSD has succeeded in delivering a number of initiatives that has improved sustainable cotton growth in Australia. Benefits of a vigorous start to the cotton crop growth cycle has shown to provide a greater net return per hectare and megalitre of water as well as improved fibre quality,” he said.
“We’re inspired by nature, the power of seeds and helping growers produce quality crops through efficient use of resources. With FastStart, we’ve been able to fulfil these goals, solving challenges for growers along the way.”
More information about the FastStart Cotton program, including downloadable research reports and tools and calculators, is available at www.faststartcotton.com.au.
Since Syngenta and CSD signed the FastStart Cotton agreement, growers have benefited from 10 key achievements. The ten FastStart milestones:
Research projects
More than 50 innovative research projects completed, focused on challenges faced in the first 70 days after sowing including:
- Investigation of the field conditions at impacts on planting.
- Support for early season insect damage experiments.
- Examination of abiotic stress.
- Numerous projects into the control of Fusarium wilt.
- Support for Verticillium wilt screening.
- Numerous trials on biostimulants, seed treatment fungicides and insecticides have been supported over the life of the program. VIBRANCE® CST is a current outcome of this work.
Over the past decade, the FastStart™ Cotton program has funded the purchase of a range of equipment to aid cotton research, including:
2008: a WhinRhizo machine for the Australian Cotton Research Institute that enabled researchers to more accurately measure root damage as a result of black root rot damage.
2012: a new growth room for CSIRO.
2013: laboratory equipment for the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries plant pathology team to further their disease research.
BION®
BION® was first identified by Dr Stephen Allen (CSIRO) and researched as a seed treatment tool for the suppression of black root rot and Fusarium wilt, as part of an integrated management program in cotton.
BION® is a plant activator which turns on the plant’s natural defences to resist disease infection. It improves establishment and protects against seedling diseases such as:
Black root rot
25% reduction in disease incidence
9.5% increase in seedling size at 3 weeks
Fusarium wilt
16.5% reduction in disease incidence
6.4% improvement in plant stand
3.9% increase in seed cotton yield
VIBRANCE® COMPLETE is the combination of VIBRANCE® CST and BION®. Together they offer the most comprehensive protection against cotton seedling diseases and have been widely adopted across cotton growing regions in Australia.
CRUISER® 600FS and CRUISER EXTREME®
Introduced in 2001, CRUISER 600FS assisted cotton establishment through the control of sucking and soil pests that attack the crop in the vulnerable seedling stage. Upon its release in 2011, CRUISER EXTREME established a new benchmark in the control of sucking and soil dwelling pests.
Both seed treatments provide comparable performance to in-furrow granular insecticides, without the need for specialised equipment, calibration or refilling, resulting in superior ease-of-use. These insecticides also demonstrate consistent performance over a wide range of growing conditions.
CRUISER 600FS and CRUISER EXTREME have been widely adopted by the cotton industry as the staple seed treatment insecticide for the control of damaging establishment pests.
FastStart™ Soil Temperature Network
Optimal soil temperature is key at planting for emergence and early crop development. It is a FastStart™ best practice recommendation that planting should not begin until soil temperatures have reached 14°C at 8am for three consecutive days, with a rising plane of temperature above 14°C forecast for the ensuing seven days.
To help cotton growers determine when it is suitable to commence planting, CSD and Syngenta developed the FastStart Soil Temperature Network of more than 30 strategically located soil temperature probes across NSW and Queensland, as well as near Katherine in the Northern Territory and Kununurra in Western Australia.
Growers and advisors can access the data in real time, along with information on the forecast temperatures and day degree accumulation.
FastStart™ Traffic Light indicator for planting
The FastStart Traffic Light indicator is a simple red-amber-green traffic light system that advises a grower when to stop, delay or go ahead with planting, based on localised data from the FastStart Soil Temperature Network.
The traffic light system takes into consideration current soil temperatures and the forecast average temperatures for the next seven days, to help guide decision making. This has widely been adopted as industry best practice.
The success of the traffic light system is in its simplicity – it is easy to use and interpret and is available as part of the FastStart™ Soil Temperature Network.
FastStart™ Cotton Establishment Guide
First published in 2015, the FastStart Cotton Establishment Guide is a comprehensive handbook comprising of all the current knowledge and research on early season cotton crop management, up until flowering.
Compiled into a handy ready reckoner, the Guide provides practical information on the key management steps required to achieve optimum plant stand. It is also used as a reference/study tool for advisors completing the FastStart Accreditation Course.
Since the first version of the Guide was published, there has been an improvement in the Planter Uniformity Index scores (as measured via the FastStart Cotton Establishment Awards).
In 2020, a revised version of the FastStart Cotton Establishment Guide has been published to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the FastStart Cotton Program.
FastStart™ website
The FastStart™ Cotton website – www.faststartcotton.com.au – is a one stop shop with the latest tools, information and resources to get your crop off to the best start, including:
- Cotton planting rate calculator
- Traffic light planting indicator
- Replant calculator
- FastStart Soil Temperature Network
- Variety performance guide
- Variety performance comparison
- FastStart Establishment Guide
- Planting checklist
- Research reports
- Grower case studies
- FastStart Cotton Accreditation Course
- FastStart Cotton Establishment Awards
FastStart™ Cotton Accreditation Course
Designed to be completed in association with the FastStart Cotton Establishment Guide, the FastStart Accreditation Course is a free training module which aims to equip cotton agronomists, consultants, rural retailers and on-farm staff with the principles and tools to advise growers on best practice cotton crop establishment.
The course is also part of the Crop Consultants Australia (CCA) accreditation program, whereby members can gain points by successfully completing the course. Non-members are also welcomed to complete the course, with the suggestion to include it as part of an on-farm induction for new employees, and/or an upskilling information update for existing farm workers.
The FastStart Accreditation Course was first offered in 2018, and since then, almost 500 users have successfully completed the training. It will be offered again in 2020, and users can access both the course and the FastStart Cotton Establishment Guide at www.faststartcotton.com.au.
VIBRANCE® CST
VIBRANCE CST was developed through the FastStart Cotton program and provides the most comprehensive disease protection for establishing cotton seedlings. With the addition of SEDAXANE (a new active ingredient developed specifically as a seed treatment) this four-way fungicide mix targets Rhizoctonia to improve seedling survival and delivers enhanced control of pythium.
In 2018, VIBRANCE CST superseded DYNASTY as the standard cotton seed treatment fungicide. VIBRANCE CST has delivered next-generation control of seedling diseases, with a 27% increase in plant stand over the untreated control and 4% improvement over the previous benchmark DYNASTY. This marked improvement was documented in trials across 30 sites in the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons at CSD Reference Farms.
FastStart™ Cotton Establishment Awards
Established in 2018 to reward and profile growers who are achieving excellence in cotton crop establishment, the FastStart Establishment Awards has supported 4 winners to explore the diversity of agricultural systems in northern Australia.
The competition compares establishment percentages and planting uniformity, with growers entering their details online to win a trip for two to Broome and Kununurra, Western Australia. In 2018, John Cameron (dryland cotton) and Todd Farrer (irrigated cotton) beat out over 70 other entries to win their respective categories.
They travelled to Western Australia in July 2019 to learn about the emerging cotton industry developing in the Kimberley region, and toured other local agricultural industries including sandalwood, horticulture, and alternative grain crops such as chia and quinoa. The tour finished with a trip to Broome to see some local sights, including the local pearling industry.
In 2019, Brett Enkelmann (dryland cotton) and Angus Doolin (irrigated cotton) won their categories, although their trip has been postponed to 2021 due to travel restrictions relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The awards will be held again in 2020 and growers are encouraged to review the FastStart Cotton Establishment Guide in preparation for planting.
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