from Cotton Seed Distributors
Web on Wednesday

Mike McCosker, Emerald (Late December)

Mike, how many irrigations has the crop received at this stage and can you compare it with your traditional irrigation management practice you have used over the years?

We are using Enviroscan but it is still hard to work out the exact deficit we are working on. But I would say we are working on a 55ml deficit, whereas in the past I would have taken that out to a 65ml deficit. We are coming in a day early each time. The crop has certainly performed well because of that I believe. I have been growing Bollgard® II for three years now. In the past I have managed it the same as for Conventional/INGARD® cotton. With the full farm of Bollgard® II this year, we have certainly pushed it a lot harder with the water and we have got better results out of it.

You are up to number 5 irrigation - how many more have you budgeted for?

We are on number 5 now. We will see how we go - hopefully only 2 more but possibly three more irrigations.

As far as nutrition goes, what program have you been following during the in-crop irrigations?

We started off with a base rate of 150 units of Nitrogen and followed it up with 50 units water run with our first irrigation and since then we have been putting on 25 units or so each water. This irrigation is the first one we haven’t put any on. I suppose the total amount applied would be about 260 units to date and I don’t plan on putting any more on. All the petiole tests are telling us that it is still abundant so hopefully we will have enough on to carry us through.

Obviously there is a lot of monitoring going on with the crop.  You have just mentioned Petiole testing - what are some of the other inputs you are monitoring?

We are using Squaring Nodes - we have probably done that 6 or 7 times now through the season. It has been valuable information to us, just knowing exactly where the crop is up to. I think it will be even more important in the next few weeks to see how it’s cutting out and understanding what’s going on. At this stage we really don’t know what our program will be with growth regulants- whether we will use them or not. At this stage I really do believe this crop is going to pull up by itself pretty well. Apart from that I have been using Enviroscan.  I think it is important to keep track of our watering. We have been lucky this year, in one regard, not to get too much rain to mess up the schedule as far as watering goes. I think it is very important to have that scheduling there to make sure you do start early enough after rain, which incidentally we haven’t done very well after this one.

What strategy have you adopted with Mirids since first square?

We are working on 1 or 2 Mirids per metre – this year we have certainly seen a few Mirids right throughout, with fairly constant pressure. We went in with 2 ground rigs basically up to flowering and after that we put another two Regent sprays on by air. So we have got the numbers down at the moment and I think that it is very important for the remainder of the crop to keep the numbers down. I am trying to get a top crop on here to ensure the quality basically trying to keep the micronaire down.

Hamish Millar Emerald (Late December)

Hamish what proportion of the farm did you end up planting to Bollgard® II this season?

This year, we planted 25% of our whole 40% transgenic area, and we were reasonably comfortable with that.

What are some of the issues that you have encountered in the season up until this stage, specific to the management of the Bollgard® II crop?

It is pretty new territory for us. I think first and foremost has been to deal with the high fruit retention - just to manage that this season has been the biggest issue for us this far.

What do you see as the priorities from here on to the end of these Bollgard® II crops?

Possibly the priority is again to manage that high fruit retention as well as understanding the secondary pests and achieving the right balance with these pests. Again, it is new and we haven’t encountered such a high population of secondary pests through the season, so we are trying to get that balance right.

Can you give us your feelings on some crop management issues at this stage of the season?
First of all: Avoiding early cutout?

Yes, that was an issue that we thought we would encounter. Basically we have 3 words for that – “Stress Free Life” for the crop. We have been right on the ball with our irrigation scheduling, nutrition and just trying to understand the physiology of the crop. We have been using the diagnostic tool (ESD) from the CRC site, measuring Squaring Nodes and Nodes Above White Flower (NAWF).

The management of the secondary pests in the crop?

We think we are getting it half right. There is a high level of Mirid populations in the field and other insects but again, we are just trying to get that balance right at this stage. I suppose we will know down the track, but everything is looking good this far.

Your irrigation scheduling and management?

What we have done this year, with Bollgard® II in particular because it is a high demand crop, is reduce our deficit slightly and more regular irrigations. We seem to be on top of it pretty well. Putting that against the ESD tool and NAWF, integrate that with our irrigation scheduling - I think that is the most crucial part of growing Bollgard® II.

Plant monitoring?

Monitor, monitor, monitor. I think that is the priority for the whole industry growing Bollgard® II. In years gone past we looked out the window of the Toyota at the crop and said “that needs water in two or three days time.” But I think once you get in the field and understand, map and monitor the plants, you can make a lot more better decisions.

Crop nutritional aspects?

We haven’t really changed the rate of nutrition. I know that some growers have tended to push their rates of nutrients up. What we have decided to do is optimise our current blend and put it on more so when the crop needs it rather than pushing the rates up - optimising rather than more.

Lester Anderson Theodore (Late December)

Lester and his father Jim have been long-term cotton growers in the Theodore area. Lester, just a couple of questions about Bollgard® II this season. Can you explain your set-up with Bollgard® II this year?

We were lucky enough to secure a 92½% Bollgard® II trial crop from Monsanto on the farm this year. Involved in that 92½% we have to have 15 hectares of unsprayed cotton, 7 hectares of Pigeonpea and 300 hectares of Bollgard® II.

That is a big acreage of Bollgard® II to move straight in to. Are there any management changes you are looking at compared with conventional management in previous years?

On the whole, we are running the farm as per previous years. We did split out a 100 hectare block which we are irrigating in 12 hour shifts; as well, we are water running urea, just to get a comparison on what differences this makes in the Bollgard® II - whether it loads up early or later.

As far as insect management goes, how have you handled Mirids for instance?

We have had varying degrees of Mirid pressure on the farm. Some paddocks have suffered loss of fruit in the Bollgard® II crop. As yet we are not totally sure - we think it is Mirids, but are still studying that at this time.

Finally, how are the Bollgard® II crops looking at this stage, remembering that they are pretty well advanced, having secured a plant of around September 26?

The earlier planted ones, planted on the 26th are looking really good. They lost a little bit of fruit earlier but they have really put it on since then. We are up to about 140 bolls and 100 squares per metre. It is looking really good.

Prospects for finishing the crop at this stage?

Good - we have ample water to finish now on those blocks. The rest of the crop looks really good

A video of these interviews is at http://www.csd.net.au/