Despite the great potential for increasing cotton productivity through the genetic engineering of fibre development, little progress has so far been made in this area.

The Australian cotton industry has been practising curative conventional insecticide resistance management and preventative Bt transgenic cotton resistance management for fifteen and two years now, respectively.

Soil fauna have generally remained an 'unseen' resource to Australian cotton growers.

Polymeria longjfolia (Polymeria take-all or Peak Downs curse)is a native Australian species.

In a cool, wet season when conditions are favourable for the Verticillium dahliae fungal pathogen, Verticillium wilt disease can cost the Australian cotton industry millions of dollars in lost production.