Cotton
Cotton bunchy top
Cotton bunchy top (CBT) has been detected in the Alice Springs region.
This viral disease can infect a variety of hosts from several plant families.
The risks associated with CBT can be avoided and managed.
Cotton is a natural fibre and it's the most used textile fibre in the world. It is currently grown in more than 100 countries.
Australia is one of the world’s largest exporters of cotton. More than 90% of cotton produced in Australia is exported.
Currently, 98% of cotton grown in Australia is genetically modified (GM).
GM cotton varieties have helped the Australian cotton industry reduce pesticide use by 95% since 1993.
Cotton production in the NT
Cotton production is an emerging industry in the Northern Territory (NT), with 9 growers in the Big Rivers region cultivating about 10,000 hectares in 2023-2024.
In 2019-2020, 800 hectares of cotton was grown in the NT across 6 properties in the Katherine and Top End regions. The area under cotton production has steadily increased over the last few years and it's expected to continue to expand.
Over 95% of the cotton area in the NT is currently rain-fed. Rain-fed farming is also known as dryland farming, it uses natural rainfall as the source of growing crops.
It's expected that over 80% of the future cotton farming in the NT will continue to use rain-fed cropping systems.
The remaining 20% will likely be supplemented by irrigation where adequate water resources are already allocated and matched to suited soils.
For a printable summary, get the cotton fact sheet PDF (916.7 KB).
Cotton trials in the NT
Cotton trials are being carried out at:
- Douglas Daly Research Farm
- Katherine Research Station
- commercial cotton farms in the Big Rivers region.
These trials are growing Bollgard®3 cotton using modern agriculture science and technology to create a sustainable cotton industry in the NT.
Combined, these methods greatly reduce the use of chemicals and water.
Find out more about the cotton trials on the Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade website.
More information
For more information about the:
- cotton industry, go to the Food Futures NT Farmers website or the Cotton Australia website
- current research project ‘Addressing the fundamentals of cropping-systems in the Northern Territory’ go to the Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia website.
Contact
To find out more, contact the agriculture division by calling 08 8999 6058 or emailing investment@nt.gov.au.
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