Australia's CSIRO-CSD mark $150mn joint investment in cotton research

The 50-year CSD-CSIRO partnership has resulted in 116 cotton varieties delivered to growers, which have returned more than $5 billion to the cotton industry and through the delivery of third-party GM traits reduced insecticide use by 85 per cent and cut herbicide use by 52 per cent. Australian cotton farming is also the most water efficient in the world, the organisations said in a joint press release.

CSD was one of CSIRO’s most important partners and their shared investment in innovation for the long term was the cornerstone of the Australian cotton industry’s success, said CSIRO executive director of future industries, Kirsten Rose.

“The CSD-CSIRO collaboration demonstrates what can be achieved when an R&D partnership is flexible and fully integrated across the value chain to solve unmet industry needs,” Rose said. “CSIRO’s world-class research combined with CSD’s seed production, extension services and delivery to farmers ensures the industry has access to short-term and long-term solutions to the challenges they face.”

CSD is the only company in Australia that supplies farmers with cotton planting seed and is one of only a few independently owned and controlled cotton seed companies in the world.

“For 50 years, our partnership has helped Australian cotton growers achieve world leading yield and quality outcomes, and provided them with variety choice tailored to their production system," said CSD managing director, Peter Graham.

Plant breeding is a long-game, and the time from initial crossing to the commercial release of a new variety can take up to 14 years. For this reason, in 2007, CSIRO and CSD formalised their relationship through the joint venture, Cotton Breeding Australia (CBA), to guarantee long-term funding for cotton breeding research projects.

Cotton Breeding Australia research ensures an ongoing pipeline of technologies that underpin long-term success of the cotton industry and continues to safeguard Australia’s over $2 billion per annum cotton industry that produces enough cotton each year to clothe 500 million people.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)