Disease management in cotton farming systems - a participatory action research approach to deliver solutions

Concerns by growers that disease is affecting growth and yield of their crops are increasing. In recent surveys of research needs from growers from both Cotton Australia and the Cottoninfo team disease was clearly one of the biggest concerns raised. Clearly managing disease is complex, and challenges are different right across the industry; from whole fields taken from production to growers managing infected paddocks for many years and remaining profitable. In developing crop management practices when disease is concerned concepts from the 'disease triangle' should be appraised. The triangle considers the interaction of environment, pathogen, and the host plant. This investment focuses on opportunities to better manage crops and the environment to reduce pathogen loads and improve the health of the cotton crop to improve tolerance/resistance to pathogens. To facilitate relevance of research, uptake and adoption by growers and agronomists this initiative will adopt farm-focused participatory action research. This approach seeks to undertake research through participation and action in the research by those affected by It. Key elements of action research involve growers and agronomist actively collaborating in the planning, acting, observing, and reflection phases of research. Other key factors contributing to the success of action research Initiatives is that research is practical, emancipatory (free from constraints), interpretative, and critical (action research remains rigorous). To achieve these elements, and particularly the latter, grower groups and their linkages to various specialists (benchmarking groups, consultancy firms, scientists [pathologists, agronomists etc], economists, and adoption specialists) will be necessary and foundational to this investment and its impact. In this participatory on-farm RD&E investment growers, advisers and specialists will be offered the opportunity to: