Australia - Cotton Seed Distributors (CSD) and Cotton Research and Development Corporation (CRDC) partner on disease and water research

Cotton Seed Distributors (CSD) and the Cotton Research and Development Corporation (CRDC) are partnering to support the delivery of integral research to benefit growers.

Two substantial investments in disease and water management will be funded by CSD’s Richard Williams Commercial Research Initiative and CRDC, and delivered through research partners Crown Analytical and Goanna Ag.

These research initiatives were developed in response to feedback from growers through the cotton industry’s extension network, including the CSD team and CottonInfo: a partnership of CRDC, CSD and Cotton Australia.

Disease is a prevalent issue, and this investment will support research led by growers on the ground, investigating the effect of farming practices on disease levels and crop returns. The research will involve growers and agronomists actively collaborating in each stage of the research, through the establishment of eight ‘disease action groups’ facilitated by the CottonInfo Regional Extension Officers. Each action group will investigate 2-3 management practices that aim to reduce disease incidence and improve cotton productivity.

The second investment focuses on supporting growers to manage their on-farm water accounts by gathering information from various data sources. Growers can monitor their water availability and where it is located in real-time through a dashboard. Access to this information will help growers make better management decisions to increase their productivity and profitability.

Allan Williams, Ian Taylor and Peter Graham.

For Peter Graham, Managing Director of CSD and Dr Ian Taylor, Executive Director of CRDC, joint investment in research is the next step in a long-standing partnership between the two industry bodies.

"CRDC and CSD have a long history of collaboration, having been joint partners in CottonInfo with fellow partner Cotton Australia since 2012, delivering vital extension services to the cotton industry,″ said Dr Taylor.

″Today, we extend that partnership to co-investment in research, helping deliver additional benefits and tangible impacts to growers. The two research initiatives announced today are the result of feedback from growers through our CottonInfo network, and align with the research priorities communicated to us through Cotton Australia’s research advisory panels.″

The two initiatives announced today are anticipated to be the first in an ongoing series of joint investments between CSD and CRDC. The teams continue to work closely to identify future opportunities for collaboration.

″Investing in this type of research is new to CSD,″ said Mr Graham.

″While CSD has invested significantly in bringing the best varieties to the industry through Cotton Breeding Australia, the Richard Williams Initiative is focused on complementing and expanding on existing industry research efforts by having a strong grower focus″ he said.

″Ideas for future investment initiatives can be shared with your local CSD Extension Agronomist or CottonInfo team member.″

The CSD’s Richard Williams Commercial Research Initiative honours the late Richard Williams for his outstanding contributions to the cotton industry and the creation of CSD. Richard was a pioneer of the modern Australian cotton industry, supporting the formation of Cotton Seed Distributors in 1967, becoming a Director of CSD. In 1968, he became CSD’s Chair, a position he held for 21 years. Today, his legacy in the cotton industry is continued through his son, Allan Williams, CRDC’s General Manager for R&D Investment.