Lab to paddock: the science behind designing the cotton crops of the future
CSIRO cotton breeder Dr Warwick Stiller says new varieties in the pipeline will lift yield and fibre quality while making crops more resilient to pests, disease and seasonal stress. Picture suppliedAustralian. . .
CSIRO cotton breeder Dr Warwick Stiller says new varieties in the pipeline will lift yield and fibre quality while making crops more resilient to pests, disease and seasonal stress. Picture suppliedAustralian cotton growers could see a new generation of varieties and crop protection traits arrive over the next decade, aimed at lifting yield and fibre quality while making crops more resilient to pests, disease and seasonal stress. Subscribe now for unlimited accessto all our agricultural newsacross the nationor signup to continue readingAll articles from our website& appThe digital version ofThis Week'sPaperOur entirenetworkSpeaking at theAustralian Cotton Conference on the Gold Coast, CSIRO cotton breeder Dr Warwick Stiller said the breeding pipeline was developing stronger resistance to verticillium wilt, black root rot and two-spotted spider mite, alongside work on fusarium wilt, cotton bunchy top, bacterial blight, nematodes, silverleaf whitefly, and environmental stressors such as heat, water stress and sodicity. Dr Stiller said the aim was not to eliminate every production constraint, but to reduce the yield penalty they imposed and give growers more options within integrated management programs. "We've got a relatively simple set of objectives," he said. "It's really about developing new varieties (with) more yield, fibre quality that somebody wants to buy, resistance to all of the diseases that we have; adapt it to anywhere that we want to grow it, and with the GM traits that are of relevance to our production systems. "Dr Stiller said tools such as lower-cost DNA sequencing, genomic prediction, imaging and computer vision were accelerating the development of new varieties. Breeders can now identify the genetic makeup of individual seeds before planting, while predictive models were a "game changer". Dr Stiller said gene editing, which was relatively new in cotton, could potentially make specific changes within elite varieties "to rapidly produce something that is better". Speaking about a hypothetical new variety released in 10 years, Sicala 2036, Dr Stiller said it was likely to offer higher yield - closing the gap towards the theoretical maximum yield of 22 bales per hectare - and fibre quality, but improved pest and disease resistance would be the key benefits. Bayer Crop Science senior vice president and head of global R&D Johannes Daniel (JD) Rossouw. Picture suppliedPROTECTING CROPSBayer Crop Science senior vice president and head of global R&D Johannes Daniel (JD) Rossouw told conference delegates the company expected to commercialise Bollgard 3 with XtendFlex herbicide tolerance and ThryvOn thrips protection in Australia in 2028. This would be followed in the early 2030s by Bollgard 4, with Thryvon and HT4 tolerance across five herbicide groups. Further insect protection technologies, including Bollgard 5, were slated for later in the 2030s. If delivered as forecast, they would help growers respond to two major challenges: increasingly expensive inputs and the need to preserve effective insect and weed control options. Their value would depend, however, on growers continuing the disciplined resistance management that has been a feature of Australian cotton. Mr Rossouw said the industry's approach was "world class", and no other crop sector with biotech approvals had successfully managed the build up of resistance in the same way. "Hats off to what you've done as an industry," he said. "It protects your technology; it protects us as well to make sure we have enough time to bring the next generation of technology to market through R&D pipeline. "Mr Rossouw said Australian cotton - even though it was outyielded 10-20 per cent by China - was the world's most profitable. Global climate modelling showed Texas rainfall would decline almost 20pc in the next 40 years and Brazil was likely to experience more micro droughts, but those conditions were less likely in eastern Australia. "I think the Australian farmer is well positioned," he said. "If you go back in time and see what you've achieved over the last 30 years . . . 90pc reduction in insecticide sprays, 52pc reduction in water use, $3 billion in exports. (It's a) great achievement. "The challenge to you all is: as an industry, can you . . . do what you've done the last 30 years in the next 15 years?"TRANSFORMING AN INDUSTRYBiotechnology, breeding, irrigation management and farm practices have revolutionised Australian cotton production in the past three decades. Before Bt cotton, growers could apply more than 20 sprays - and sometimes up to 30 - in a season, while still struggling with heliothis pressure. Breeding has been a major contributor, with about half of the industry's yield improvement attributed to the cotton breeding program, which has produced more than 120 varieties. The first Australian varieties carrying the Ingard insect-resistance trait were released in 1996, following a CSIRO-Monsanto collaboration that began in 1987. As it happensBreaking news alertBe the first to know when news breaks.