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I am talking to CSIRO Cotton Breeder Peter Reid. Peter with low water this year a number of growers are going to plant cotton without the full water to finish them off. What varieties should they be looking for in those sorts of situations?

Well Adam I think the key really is the plant type which is a good vigorous full season type and fibre quality certainly in terms of good staple length. Those are the key things farmers need to look for. There is no point in looking for the more compact and also of course the shorter staple types, they really could end up in trouble if they look at those.

So if we think of geographies. If we are in the South of the state the Macquarie and Lachlan, Murrumbidgee areas, what variety would fit the bill there?

You are probably looking at the 60 family. Something like the 60BR really probably fits the best in those southern areas and good fibre quality and fills out the season pretty well and is reasonably vigorous. As you move North you move into some of the other full season types, things like the 289 family, 289BR or Bollgard and also the 80 types the Sicot 80 Bollgard are very good under stressed conditions so these sort of full season varieties have the ability to cope with the varying conditions if you do run out of water and then get water late they may well be able to recover and produce a reasonable crop. By contrast some of the more determinant types may well have cut out and not be able to regrow it again.

So if we think about the most popular family out there in the industry the Sicot 71’s what would you say with that family?

Well really in the 71 family the 71B is the only one with reasonable with adequate staple length but really the plant type is not that well suited to possible stress situations. I really would say to avoid the 71 families if you are looking at limited water situations.

There you would move to the 289B, BR’s and also the 80B possibly the 350B I suppose if you really wanted to look after your fibre quality. But you know probably the 80B in most situations.

In the 80 Family we have got the Flex’s, would they be suitable in this case to?

Yes sure if you can get hold of some of the new 80 Flex or 80 Bollgard Flex would be well suited to the stress situations.

Now the most popular varieties in the dryland are the Siokra 24B and the V-16 family. Any comments about those for use in a sort of limited water situation?

Yes they are certainly well worth considering for very limited water situations. The caution is with the V-16 types through they certainly will do very well under stress situations. They have the question mark over their fusarium resistance so anywhere where fusarium is a consideration you really should not be looking at the V-16 types. But the 24, 24 conventional, 24B, certainly for stress situations they will handle it very well and give you that ability to come back from bad stress and hopefully still produce a crop.

With the current low water and poor price scenario that is affecting our industry, CSD has been talking to many growers about how we can share the risk for the coming season. We know that many growers are interested in taking a punt on an area and so with that in mind, CSD has developed what we are calling “The Punters Pack”, something that will enable growers to maybe take a punt with a little less risk.

Now the details, the “Punters Pack” is going to be available to CSD Members and it is going to be available in two varieties, Sicot 289 Bollgard Roundup and Sicala60 Bollgard Roundup. We have teamed up with Chemtura, our seed treatment partner that makes Semevin Super and for those varieties with that seed treatment we will offer a money back guarantee if you have to plough out the crop before the 20^th January because of low water and lack of rainfall. So we hope that that is not needed but we are trying to give the growers some insurance and share some of that risk for the coming season. This as I said the Punters Pack is available to CSD Members and there are some terms and conditions around the deal which I would suggest growers have a look at the CSD website and have a look at those terms and conditions. All growers should receive a letter in the mail in the next week, outlining this offer to them.

I should point out that this is available through participating distributors so you need to check with your distributor if they are participating in this “Punters Pack” offer.

I wish you well for the coming season and hope that you don’t have to take up this offer but want to make you aware that it is there for the benefit of our grower members.