Predicting and Enhancing Cotton Compensation Following Pest Damage

Abstract

This project has produced data which confirmed past findings of the robustness of cotton to compensate for levels of insect damage exceeding those of current industry thresholds for Helicoverpa and mirids. We have further quantified cotton’s ability to recover from damage by compiling a significant database of yield outcomes in a variety of single and multiple damage situations across a wide range of agronomic conditions (i.e. cultivar, plant density, N and Pix application) and in a number of regions from northern Australia to Queensland and NSW (to assess compensation under diverse climatic regimes). To link artificial damage, which is normally implemented evenly within a row of cotton, with the more patchy damage caused by insects, we assessed the effects of various spatial distributions of damage within a stand on growth and yield.