The title of this article is deliberately provocative. Pupae busting has been an icon of resistance management for the cotton industry, since the first Insecticide Resistance Management Scheme (IRMS) for pyrethroid insecticides in 1984. Combined with windows for application of specific chemical groups, it has formed the basis of these schemes ever since. It provides an effective means of killing overwintering pupae which have been exposed to selection pressure towards the end of the season. Pupae busting has been carried forward into RMPs for Bt cotton, beginning with Ingard in 1996, and then Bollgard II. Many in the industry might consider it almost sacrilegious to suggest removing it. Yet many growers dislike pupae busting. It costs money - Cotton CRC economists have estimated a cost of $26 per hectare in fuel, labour and depreciation. More significantly, it interferes with farming systems. It is incompatible with minimum tillage, which is widely adopted in dryland farming systems and brings many benefits in reducing soil erosion, conserving soil moisture and improving carbon sequestration. These issues are most pressing for dryland cotton growers, since irrigated growers often have to perform operations in normal ground preparation which serve the purpose of pupae busting, especially for back-to-back cotton crops. Yet even for irrigated growers, the need to pupae bust can often restrict rotation crop options, and prolonged wet weather can expose growers to the risk of being non-compliant with RMPs, triggering impositions such as additional refuge planting in the next season.

Background: Two-spotted spider mites ('Tetranychus urticae' Koch) oviposit near leaf veins or in leaf folds on the undersides of cotton ('Gossypium hirsutum' L.) leaves where the humid boundary layer offers protection from desiccation. The authors predicted that the boundary layer of glabrous cotton leaves should be shallower than that of hairy leaves, providing some resistance to mites. The dynamics of mite populations, leaf damage, leaf gas exchange and crop yield on two leaf hair isolines (smooth versus hairy) in two genetic backgrounds was assessed. Results: Mite colonies developed faster on the hairy leaf isolines, but leaf damage per mite was higher in smooth leaf isolines, indicating more intense damage. A 50% reduction in photosynthesis on the hairy isolines required 1.8 times more mites than smooth leaves. The yield of cotton was reduced in + mite treatments, but the magnitude of reduction was similar for hairy and smooth isolines. Conclusion: Paradoxically, the relative inhospitality of glabrous leaves may have induced mites to concentrate in protected leaf sections, causing more localised and more severe damage, negating the yield benefits from fewer mites. These results highlight interactions between leaf microenvironment, pest behaviour and plant productivity that may have implications for other instances of plant resistance.

Best practice management (BPM) guides are a commonly used form of extension to improve private landholder management of invasive pest species in Australia. However, relatively little is known about the quantifiable benefits of these guides as a standalone extension technique. Extension is effective in delivering messages to target audiences, and fostering adoption of best management practices. However, none of the literature quantifies the impact of extension programs on practice change. While BPM guides are amongst the most highly regarded written information sources on pest species management amongst landholders, face to face approaches are more highly regarded. Ideally then, BPM guides can play an important role in supporting these interpersonal forms of extension as part of an integrated and complementary extension strategy which accounts for diversity of opinions, experiences, capabilities and interest amongst target audiences, and increases the potential for success. Preparing a successful BPM guide will commence with an assessment of the actual need for extension. The guide development process will involve a 'continuum' of information gathering and consultation to ensure it is as relevant as possible to the target audience.

Woodlots ranging in area from 0.18 to 0.5 ha were established within the Cicerone Project farmlet trial on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, due to a lack of physical protection in most paddocks across the farmlets. Two percent of each farmlet was planted to trees to examine the commercial and environmental potential of seven species to provide shade and shelter for livestock, increase biodiversity or contribute to cash flow through farm forestry diversification. 'Eucalyptus caliginosa' (timber), 'E. nitens' (timber, pulp wood), 'E. radiata '(essential oil) and 'Pinus radiata'(timber) were planted in four upslope plots (1059– 1062ma.s.l.) in different paddocks. 'Casuarina cunninghamiana' (timber,shelter), 'E. acaciiformis' (shade, shelter and biodiversity), 'E. dalrympleana' (timber, biodiversity), 'E. nitens' (timber, pulp wood), 'E. radiata' (essential oil) and 'P. radiata' (timber) were planted in four low-lying plots (1046–1050ma.s.l.) in separate paddocks, 400–1200 m distant. The pines and natives were planted in August and October 2003, respectively, into a well prepared, weed-free, mounded, planting bed. After 5 years, 'P. radiata' (98% survival) and 'E. nitens' (83%) survived best in upslope plots, reaching maximum heights of 7.8 and 8.8mand exhibiting no or only modest insect damage, respectively. In low-lying plots, 'E. acaciiformis' (75% survival) and 'E. dalrympleana' (80%) survived best, reaching maximum heights of 5.5 and 4.5 m, and exhibiting little or only moderate insect damage, respectively. 'P. radiata' exhibited 17–69%survival in the two lowest-lying plots but 100% survival in the other two lowland plots. On average, <50% of C. 'cunninghamiana, E. nitens' and 'E. radiata' survived in low-lying plots and survivors grew poorly. Early frosts in March 2004 were the primary cause of losses in low-lying plots, and frost, waterlogging, insect attack and some inadvertent livestock browsing explain the slower growth of species in low-lying plots compared with their performance upslope. P. radiata and perhaps E. nitens have commercial promise for timber production on Northern Tablelands farms, but only in higher (well drained, less frost-prone) parts of the landscape. 'E. acaciiformis' can withstand the stressful growing conditions in open pasture in low-lying plots, and should be planted more widely for on-farm shade and shelter. 'E. dalrympleana' can also be considered for amenity and biodiversity plantings in lower parts of the landscape.

Sturt's desert pea ('Swainsona formosa') is an Australian native legume used as an ornamental pot plant and is also suitable for hanging baskets and as a cut flower. One of the impediments to the commercialisation of S. 'formosa' as a pot plant is its inability to produce flower under low light conditions. The work reported here investigated the effect of high light intensity (800 ± 50 μmol m⁻²s⁻¹) and low light intensity (150 ± 10 μmol m⁻²s⁻¹) on the flowering of 'S. formosa' with particular emphasis on the changes of glucose concentration in shoot apices from the vegetative to floral stages. Plants grown under high light initiated flowers within 45 days from seed germination, while plants grown under low light intensity remained vegetative and produced no flowers during the 60 days of experimental period. Using HPLC, trace amounts (0.52 mg g⁻​¹) of glucose were detected under high light intensity at the beginning of transition from vegetative to floral stage (40 days after germination) which increased to 2.70 mg g⁻​¹ with progressive floral development. No glucose was detected in shoot apices of plants grown under low light during the experimental period. Results indicate that adequate glucose production may be required for floral initiation and development in 'S. formosa'.

An evaluation of three novel elemental sulfur (S°) coated mono-ammonium phosphate (MAP) products ((MAP with coarse (75-100μm) S° coating (MAP75), MAP with fine (17-24μm) S° coating (MAP17), and MAP with 1/3 coarse S°, 1/3 fine S°, and 1/3 sulfate coating (MAPM)) was undertaken in an intact core pot trial using red clover ('Trifolium pratense') and compared with single superphosphate (SSP). Sulfur (S) uptake from coated S sources was not significantly different (p<0.05) from SSP after 120 days of growth. Between 34% and 53% plant S was derived from the fertiliser sources. There was no significant difference in % fertiliser recovery between MAPM and SSP at either harvest and at both harvests fertiliser S recovery was in the order MAP < MAP75 < MAP17 < MAPM < SSP. The key finding was that a MAP coated with 1/3 sulfate and 2/3 S° was able to supply clover with the same amount of S, at the same rate, as SSP over 120 days. Under leaching conditions, this availability may result in slower, longer release of S as the coarser fraction slowly meets plant demands and protects added S from leaching.

In all systems, phosphorus (P), particularly phosphate, is inexorably drawn to sorption surfaces or precipitated, and is removed from the readily plant-available P pools. Mobilising this less-available P is a significant challenge in organic and low-input agro-ecosystems where readily available P sources may not be applied regularly. Although good-quality inputs, with low C : P ratio, and rotations may be effective in managing organic P cycles in pasture and forestry systems, extensive cropping systems will remain problematic. Two conceptual models are proposed to use organic matter additions to transfer this recalcitrant P into the biocycle, one involving highly labile organic matter and the other involving less-labile organic additions. Current literature provides some evidence for the efficacy of both models, but further work is necessary to clarify which is optimal for agro-ecosystems relying on either low inputs of P or forms of P that are allowed in organic agricultural systems, such as manures or rock phosphate. The microbial biomass is integral to P biocycling in organic systems, but further work is necessary to clarify the role of fungal and bacterial decomposers in decomposition processes. Identifying P-efficient cultivars with low translocation from roots to shoots to provide an 'organic' P source for following crops, essentially optimal rotation sequences for mobilising P using plants, is an avenue of promising research potential. Enzyme activation of recalcitrant organic P sources is unlikely to be effective if applied to bulk soils; however, further research on enzyme activities in the rhizosphere holds promise. We strongly recommend that further research be directed toward understanding and limiting reactions of inorganic P with soil colloids and minerals, either through chemical means (pH change, competitive sorption) or introduction and manipulation of organic materials. The research issues identified above overlap considerably with conventional agricultural concerns and benefits will accrue to both conventional and organic producers where further research is promoted.

An evaluation of a Sulfur Enhanced Fertilizer (Thiogro) fertilizer (MAP12) was undertaken on a native pasture oversown with clover near Armidale, NSW, Australia from August 2007 to November 2008. Fertilizers (Single superphosphate (SSP), mono-ammonium phosphate (MAP), pastille DAPS (pastille) and Sulfur enhanced mono-ammonium phosphate 12 (MAP12)) were top dressed onto the sward and four harvests taken over the period. SSP and MAP12 produced higher clover yields than MAP and pastille DAPS. MAP12 was superior to SSP, particularly at the later harvests. This is an important result as clover growth is essential in the pasture both to contribute fixed N and for animal protein. Addition of S fertilizers increased the uptake of S in all treatments, except pastille DAPS. Highest uptake was with MAP12. Calculation of apparent fertilizer recovery (S uptake in S treatment - S uptake in MAP treatment)/ S applied) showed a recovery of 16% from SSP, 32% from MAP12 and no recovery from DAP pastille. The increased yield resulting from S application resulted in an increase in the apparent recovery of fertilizer P.

In 2009 we registered a formulation of plant volatile compounds, sucrose (feeding stimulant), and various excipients including antioxidants, thickeners, emulsifiers and dyes, for use against the adult stages of the noctuid moths 'Helicoverpa armigera' and 'H. punctigera' in cotton, corn and beans. We believe it is the world's first such product approved for application to crops. The volatiles are nature-equivalent, but synthetically produced. This meant it could not be registered as a biological product, but was potentially eligible under a category including "commonly used household or industrial chemicals with a history of safe use", for which the registration requirements were less stringent than for novel active ingredients. The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) determined that, for plant volatiles, the primary criterion or a history of safe use was inclusion in the Generally Recognised as Safe (GRAS) list of the Flavour and Extract Manufacturer's Association of the USA (FEMA). Excipient ingredients had to be food-grade. Farmers can add insecticides (methomyl, thiodicarb or spinosad) to make the product lethal to the target insects. These insecticides were already approved as conventional larvicides, and were efficacious for moths at concentrations below those resulting in registered active ingredient loads in the relevant crops. The impact of these requirements on the commercialisation of the product, and implications for developing similar plant volatile blends for pest management, were reviewed in 2010 and published in Australian Journal of Entomology.

Reductions in atmospheric inputs of S in rainfall, and the world's reliance on non-, or low-S containing TSP, DAP, MAP and urea has resulted in a widening gap in the S input/output balance, and an increasing incidence of S deficiency in agriculture. A technology to incorporate elemental S, with or without sulphate S, into ammonium phosphate fertilizers has been developed and patented by Shell. The fertilizers produced by this process are generically called "Sulphur Enhanced Fertilizer" (SEF or Thiogro). A wide range of experimental N, P, S formulations have been made, with elemental S concentrations up to 15% or greater. Agronomic testing of several of these products has been undertaken in a wide range of crops in temperate and tropical environments in China, generating a weighted mean crop yield increase to Thiogro of 13%, compared to the zero S control, in S responsive sites. Soil analyses from 82 of the 101 field trials were used to establish the utility of the mono-calcium phosphate extract to estimate the potential S response at each site. The accepted critical soil S test value for the MCP extract is 10 mg/kg. Predictability of an S response was low (47% correct) at low soil test values and acceptable (72%correct) on non-responsive sites. These data indicate that MCP extraction is not a good way to identify potentially S responsive sites.

Soils of Cambodia are low in fertility and conventional rice cultivation destroys any structure that they have. Usage of inorganic fertilizers is low and farmers are encouraged to use animal manure. Much of the research conducted on crop responses to manure is based on trials where unrealistically high application rates have been used so the farmers are given false hopes as to what they might achieve through its use. Little response curve data exists on which to base fertilizer rate recommendations and general recommendations have been formulated for the different soil groups. An economic analysis comparing the general recommendation with site specific nutrient management (SSNM) recommendations has been made on the results of a published experiment and shown substantial increases in both profitability and benefit/cost ratio in using the SSNM recommendations on four soil types. Cambodian farmers, like many in the developing world, have to be careful with their limited cash resources in purchasing plant nutrients and more attention needs to be paid to producing profitable and reliable fertilizer and manure recommendations.

We have recently registered a product called Magnet®, for attract-and-kill of adults of Helicoverpa armigera and H. punctigera in Australian cotton. It consists of a mixture of six synthetic (nature-equivalent) plant volatile chemicals, with sucrose as a feeding stimulant. Farmers can add any one of three insecticides. When applied to cotton crops, Magnet® with insecticide is capable of attracting and killing large numbers of moths. It was developed as a component for IPM in conventional (non-Bt) cotton, but this now occupies a very small proportion of Australian cotton acreage, which is dominated by transgenic Bt (Bollgard II ®) cotton. Recent trends in the frequency of resistant alleles for the two Cry toxins in Bollgard II ® suggest that additional tools may be needed for inclusion in future Resistance Management Plans, either to supplement existing measures or to replace onerous requirements such as cultivation to destroy overwintering pupae. In this presentation we will describe experiments aimed at enhancing the productivity of refuges which are used to generate unselected moths by application of Magnet® without insecticide, or (by including insecticide) killing moths emerging from late season cotton, or emerging in spring from fields which grew cotton in the previous summer.

Napier grass ('Pennisetum purpureum' Schumach.) is the main fodder for the dairy industry in eastern and southern Africa as in many other tropical/subtropical regions of the world. Plant water relations were assessed for two cultivars of Napier grass; Local and Bana, the latter being an infertile hybrid between 'P. purpureum' and 'P. glaucum'. Plants were grown in a controlled environment at diurnal maximum temperatures of either 25 or 35°C to assess their tissue water relations in response to variable water supply (25, 50 or 100% field capacity) to mimic current and possible future climatic conditions in east Africa. At 25% watering and 25°C Local had higher midday relative water content (RWC) than Bana, but not at 50 or 100% field capacity, at which RWC was higher for Bana than for the Local. At the cooler 25°C, Bana attained a leaf water potential (LWP) minimum of -2.88 MPa at 25% watering, while Local had -2.27 MPa. At 100% watering and 35°C, Bana had higher RWC and LWP than Local at 25%. In a hotter environment, Bana appears to maintain higher water status than Local at 25% when soil is at field capacity while other watering responses appear similar for both cultivars.