Don’t forget to ‘Come Clean – Go Clean’

FUSCOM had its annual update on the 12th and 13th April in Toowoomba. The two days comprised of several talks covering the full range of all diseases, pests and problems currently known to pose a threat to Australian cotton systems. The updates were insightful, but the real message that most of the participants will have taken away from the meeting is that there is a need to combat complaicancy and a willingness to overlook the control management options that the industry strives to have in place.

Examples that highlighted the need for re-education of growers, consultants and contractors of the importance of the ‘Come Clean – Go Clean’ strategy as well as the management options to limit the increase spread and incidence of several diseases were highlighted by the following examples:

Verticillium was detected in some southern fields for the first time and the suspected source of inoculum was dirty second hand equipment from other valleys.

Fusarium has spread into new areas in 2015/16 and the most likely source was from contract wheat harvesters bringing the disease into the field in the previous rotation.

Reniform remained limited to the Theodore area, but the number of infected field samples increased!

Verticillium symptoms in a cotton stem and root

It’s important to remember that increasing either the occurance or the incidence of any of the known cotton pests on your farm or across your fields will have an impact on your yield. So don’t let them in and if you’ve got them then make every effort to contain them with management.