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| CSIRO | SOLVE | Issue 12 | Aug 07 | |
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ARTICLE
ENVIRONMENT:
Water-Saving Cotton By Dr Gio Braidotti
The cotton industry’s success with genetic modification to amplify pest-management benefits has led it to target even more ambitious gains.Having seen biotechnology reduce pesticide use in cotton crops by 80–90 per cent, Cotton Australia is applying a similar strategy to slash the amount of water needed to grow cotton. This bold target is, again, relying on CSIRO expertise across a range of agricultural technologies. Over the next three years, $17 million provided by the Cotton Research and Development Corporation and the Cotton Catchment Communities Cooperative Research Centre will be spent applying a broad range of technologies to achieve Cotton Australia’s target of doubling the water-use efficiency of cotton crops in just 10 years. Cotton Australia CEO Adam Kay admits the goal is ambitious, but given the unprecedented success of pest control and pesticide reduction based on cutting-edge gene technologies, he is confident the new goal is achievable. The water-use efficiency target will be based on a similar strategy developed to introduce and sustain the genetically modified (GM) cotton that has allowed the industry to dramatically cut back on its use of environmentally damaging pesticides. At CSIRO Entomology, assistant chief Dr Gary Fitt explains that in dealing with cotton’s major pest – the Helicoverpa moth – CSIRO developed GM cotton varieties using Monsanto’s Bt gene, which delivers an insecticidal protein obtained from the Bt soil bacterium.
However, Bt toxins have been used for decades as environmentally friendly sprays, and overseas studies have shown that insect pests are capable of developing resistance to Bt when the compound is over-used as a spray. “In Australia, Helicoverpa has a history of repeatedly evolving resistance to pesticides,” Dr Fitt says. “So when GM cotton became available in Australia it was released with a specially designed, pre-emptive resistance management strategy.” These combined advances – in biotechnology and resistance management – have since delivered unprecedented environmental and pest-management benefits. Gains include a resurgence of beneficial insects that help growers deal with additional pests. The strategy also includes a longstanding monitoring system that allows CSIRO to determine that after a decade of using GM cotton, there has been no change in the resistance status of Helicoverpa to Bt. Mr Kay says preventing the emergence of resistance is essential to the industry’s future. “The strategy we used was based on the best science available and that was provided by CSIRO.” He further stresses that although the benefits brought about by GM technology are unquestionable, the industry also needs great cotton varieties in which to introduce novel GM traits. “This is where CSIRO Plant Industry’s cotton breeding program is so critical: it provides the platform for continuous improvements in yield and fibre quality through the addition of conventional and GM traits.” Looking to the future, Mr Kay says there are more GM traits in the R&D pipeline and that the next big issue is water: “We already have the most efficient water-use growers in the world, but we are looking to add further to those achievements.”APPLICATION CSIRO expertise in plant biotechnology and integrated management systems is assisting Australia’s cotton industry. BENEFIT Concurrent gains to cotton growers and the environment through massive reductions in pesticide use. For further information contact: |
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