Print This PageGrowing More with Less: View from the field with Tom Breen
As the majority of the Australian cotton industry continues to battle with limited access to irrigation water, we are looking at ways to assist growers be more sustainable by producing more cotton, with less water.
Our focus is on improving the performance of the Bollgard II® and Roundup Ready Flex® technology in limited-water scenarios, and providing risk-sharing incentives through the launch of the Cotton Choices program which includes an End Point Royalty (EPR) pilot for the 2009/10 season.
Cotton growers across a number of production regions are recognising the significant opportunities Bollgard II and Roundup Ready Flex technology delivers through greater farming system flexibility.
Bollgard II and Roundup Ready Flex technology provide a reliable insect and weed control platform. Growers can now take advantage of security and protection against pest control blow-outs in dryland and semi-irrigated situations. This is allowing for greater utilisation of planting and in-crop rainfall through the relatively high returns of cotton (profit/mm water) in comparison to alternative summer cropping or fallowing systems.
The introduction of the EPR program is providing further incentive for growers to increase their area of Bollgard II and Roundup Ready Flex cotton by providing protection against unfavourable growing conditions in a way that no other cropping option offers.
In combination, the EPR program and Bollgard II with Roundup Ready Flex technology, allows for the most efficient and profitable use of rainfall and supplementary irrigation, in periods when water is the most limiting cropping resource.
In 2008-09 Monsanto recognized the opportunity for limited-irrigation cotton and undertook a field research program in the Gwydir Valley. The focus was on determining the most efficient use of supplementary irrigation water in a wide-row, partially-irrigated system. Efficiency was measured in terms of bales produced and economic returns per Ml of water applied.
The trial methodology included replicating treatments of 2, 3 and 4 irrigations across both Bollgard II with Roundup Ready Flex and conventional cotton. The goal was to assess the impact of total applied water and timing of applied water on cotton yield. Preliminary trial results indicate all treatments exceeded returns of greater than 2 bales/Ml of applied water and are significantly higher than historic water-use efficiencies of traditional, fully irrigated cotton production systems in the Gwydir region.
We aim to continue this program and other farming systems research in 2009-10, supporting our innovative and committed customers in overcoming the challenge of growing more with less.
Our intention is that the implementation of an EPR program in response to the needs of our customers will complement the benefits that Bollgard II and Roundup Ready Flex technology already delivers and further enhance the flexibility and reliability of dryland and semi-irrigated cotton production systems.
