Dall'Alba notes that we have no shortage of competitors', and 'we should not take the current high rating of our Australian cotton for granted'.

Even though the Australian cotton industry is based on a high input irrigated system, there is an increasingly significant area of dryland cotton.

Last season there were four (Siokra 1-4, Siokra L22, Sicala 33 and CS 189) CSIRO mainstream varieties being grown commercially in most districts.

The CSIRO breeding programs aim to produce varieties for all the different growing situations in Australia.

The performance of CSIRO varieties and new lines are evaluated each year in a series of regional trials, known as the Australian Cotton Cultivar Trial (ACCT).