Final Report - Digital soil mapping available water content in the Lower Macquarie Valley, NSW

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There is evidence the nep and short fibre content of Australian cotton is too high compared with other growths of similar quality1. These characteristics are a result of the productive and efficient harvest and ginning practices utilized by the Australian industry but the problem is exacerbated by current lint cleaner design. In particular, the combination of lint cleaner elements, i.e. the feed rollers and feed bar, grid bars and the doffing brush around the lintcleaner saw, and the transfer ratios between these elements affect fibre quality. The broad aim of this project was to adapt and re-engineer the widely used fixed batt saw lint cleaner to reduce short fibre and nep content. The main adaption proposed at the start of this project was an auto-levelling system for the lint cleaner feed such that the weight of fibre transferred onto the saw would always be constant. Typically the unit is powered by a single30kW motor, which regardless of the rate of fibre flow runs at full speed.Currently in lint cleaners there are no sensors to regulate fibre flow or draft settings. Excessive speed and large draft or combing ratios, i.e. a high saw surface speed to feed roller speed, increase damage to the lint. Implementing an auto-levelling system requires sensors and variable speed devices to maintain a consistent flow of material. It has been shown in previous work2 that low combing ratios reduced short fibre content and improved fibre lengthand length uniformity. Introducing constancy to the batt weight requires a greater degree of control of this combing ratio effect. Thus, the initial focus in this project was to test the possibility of sensor control of mechanical elements, in particular the feed mechanism, in the standard fixed batt saw lint cleaner and CSIRO's Modified Lint Cleaner (MLC). As well as testing fibre and batt weight variation through the lint cleaner machine, work also concentrated on the application of additional mechanical elements, e.g. a combed grid bar heel, designed to even the transfer of fibre onto the saw.Once achieved, the objective was then to link this mechanical control to moisture control systems being developed as part of New Ginning Technology for Australian Cotton: Part II (Moisture & Contamination) project. However, observations from flow and mass sensors applied to a commercial gin in the firstyear of the project, showed the delivery of fibre from the gin by the current system was too fast and too uneven to be controlled. Work on the project subsequently defaulted to proving and extending the veracity of the MLC to industry, with a view to commercialising the MLC technology.Alternate fibre conveyor designs to give a more even feed and allow time for the batt to be levelled and humidified were drawn up towards the end of this project. These designs require greater intervention to the ginning system than was originally foreseen in this project. A new project around these designs was proposed to the CRDC in a FRP in January 2009.

Final report to National Lippia Working Group steering committee and funding partners for the National Lippia Best Practice manual

Wincott continues to provide the cotton industry with a network of support, to collect and disseminate information, educate and train, in a friendly environment. While male membership is welcome and encouraged, our primary focus is on the professional and personal development of women in regional, rural areas.The Wincott committee of volunteers is active and productive, with members from different areas across the cotton-growing valleys of NSW & Qld, representing a diverse range of stakeholders. The challenge we face is common to all those managing through times of reduced farm production ie the burden placed on an organisation&#39s limited resources. In June the committee undertook an evaluation process, both internally and with some key sponsors, to gain insight in to what position the organisation currently holds, and where and how we plan to head in to the future.One primary avenue for sharing information and networking is the field/information days, held in different valleys. However, in response to people&#39s decreased capacity for time away from work, this past year we reduced the number of workshops from four to three. Those we staged were very successful in achieving their intended outcomes for our regional rural communities - education, information dissemination, & networking.Our website and newsletter, WINC, continue to provide an efficient and effective means for keeping our members connected and updated with industry news and regional events.Looking ahead, the committee continues to seek opportunities for partnerships - to &#39value-add&#39 at events, actively work with our sponsors, and identify areas where we can learn from and support other organisations and sectors. With the recent success in obtaining a substantial DAFF grant, our proposed &#39Voices in Agriculture&#39 workshops to be staged in November in Gunnedah and Trangie, aim to address industry, organisational & community leadership, and climate change. Response from the public to these workshops has been extremely positive.

Summer Scholarship - Some studies on gas [nitrogen and oxygen] concentrations in the rhizosphere

Community Action Fund 2010 - Burren Junction homework group

Regional Cotton Extension Officer positions are part of the cotton programme carried out by the Industry Services Business Group - South Region Unit and Plant Science Units of Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries (QPIF), Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI). These positions link into other activities within Irrigated Farming Systems extension programs. The positions are joint-funded through the Cotton CRC, Cotton Research and Development Corporation and QPIF. Regional Cotton Extension Officer positions are the foundation positions of the Cotton CRCs National Cotton Extension Team's regional activities.

Cotton fibre quality is attracting more attention as Growers are receiving increased feedback from end users that if Australia is to maintain its position as a world leader in machine picked cotton it must minimise poor fibre properties. High or low micronaire, short fibre, neps and sticky cotton are parameters that mills are becoming concerned about. On-farm agronomy can influence fibre quality in many ways, although picking and ginning will determine the final quality characteristics. Fibre development responds directly to the environment, management and stresses. As a result, correct variety choice for the growing region combined with reduced stress management will optimise fibre quality. Of the manageable stresses, water management is particularly important in determining length, strength and micronaire. Correct defoliation timing is also important in reducing neps. In the future, new fibre measurement instruments are being developed that will supersede some common HVl measurements and help match the spinning characteristics of the cotton more closely to the measured attributes. This will provide improved feedback for growers and ginners and hopefully build a closer link between the enduser and the grower. The development of FIBREpak will hopefully encompass all this information and allow growers to manage for both yield and quality

Electrical resistivity imaging has been validated as a technique that can show the two dimensional movement of water through the soil profile after the application of irrigation water.

Water movement can be inferred in the resistivity section by comparing resistivity images recorded before and after the application of irrigation water. As the water migrates through the soil profile the resistivity decreases (electrical conductivity increases). The movement of the water through the vadose zone has been shown to be via preferential paths, possibly related to cracks or sandier zones within the profile. Time-lapse sequences of deep drainage show that irrigation water reaches depths of 5 to 10 meters within the first few hours after watering.

Electrical images comparing the moisture content throughout the soil profile to 10 metres in October and then in February show that a substantial quantity of water is added to the profile to a depth of 6 metres throughout the growing season. Resistivity images recorded just prior to irrigation show that the roots of the cotton plants have removed significant quantities of water immediately surrounding the roots, but have little influence on the moistures content of the soil profile immediately below the root zone. The drier soil around the root zone shows up as semi-circles of higher resistivity in the resistivity images.

At some locations, after watering there is an increase in the resistivity of the soil profile between 1 to 1.5 metres. This is interpreted as fresher irrigation water flushing out more saline pore water.