The checklist for growers considering growing cotton in the tropics:

Ginning and module transportation: Complete your arrangements for ginning before you commit to planting cotton. Note: current biosecurity restrictions exclude ginning of cotton grown in the Northern Territory and Western Australia at any facilities in Central Queensland.

Suitable equipment: Successful cotton production depends on the ability to conduct timely agronomic operations, particularly during the wet season when the window for action can be very short between rainfall events.

Crop monitoring and management advice: The availability of crop consultants is limited in some regions. Wet season cotton production requires agronomic practices that are suited to tropical conditions and some southern cotton production tactics (sowing, nitrogen, growth regulator and irrigation) are not directly transferable. The ability to contextualise advice to match local conditions is essential.

Local communication: Spray drift (onto and off cotton) is an important consideration, both for the cotton crop and for off-field impacts. It is your responsibility to ensure chemical drift is minimised on your farm and does not occur outside your property boundaries. Develop a pesticide application management plan (PAMP) and discuss your plans to grow cotton with your neighbours so any concerns can be adequately addressed.

Biosecurity restrictions: There are key pests, weeds and diseases that only occur in Northern or Southern Australia and therefore biosecurity practices that limit movement of these organisms between regions is critically important.

Transgenic cotton requirements: There are specific industry and government regulations that apply to production of transgenic cotton in Australia. These can vary between regions, so talk with your relevant Bayer representative regarding your requirements.

Crop inputs: You will need to source suppliers for farm inputs such as seed, fertiliser, herbicides, insecticides, growth regulators, defoliants and a licence to grow GM cotton Technology User Agreement (TUA).

Best practice: The Australian cotton industry utilises the myBMP (best management practice) system to demonstrate to the community the industry’s improved farming practices and careful management of our natural resources. Expansion of cotton into new areas should consider and manage risks to water quality, local fauna, and natural vegetation.

Marketing: Cotton has unique marketing parameters based around fibre quality. Discuss premium and discount sheets as well as price with an experienced cotton merchant/marketer.

The Cotton Production in Northern Australia 2025 booklet has been developed for a Northern audience, or those contemplating growing cotton in the North. It aims to help people better understand how cotton grows under tropical conditions and interacts with weather and focuses on things that are different for agronomic management such as sowing time, nutrition, canopy management and irrigation in the tropics.

You can download Cotton Production in Northern Australia 2025 here or view it as an online flipbook here. This is designed to be used by Northern growers in conjunction with the full Australian Cotton Production Manual.

Paul Grundy: CottonInfo Technical Lead for Northern Australia/QLD DPI paul.grundy@daf.qld.gov.au 

Simon Ong: Entomologist, Katherine Simon.Ong@nt.gov.au

Edward Mwando: Senior researcher. Katherine Edward.Mwando@nt.gov.au

Jack Daniel: Research Agronomist, Kununurra Jack.Daniel@nacropresearch.com

Sarah Nolan: Cotton Pathology, Kununurra Sarah.Nolan@dpird.wa.gov.au

Samuel Krekeler: Cotton Pathology, Mareeba Samuel.Krekeler@daf.qld.gov.au

Publications, resources & tools:

• Fact sheets & analysis:
  • What is mepiquat chloride? A guide for Northern Australian cotton growers
  • Climate Analysis for Cotton Production Across Northern Australia
  • Tropical cotton production: considerations for northern cotton growers
  • Insect ID guide: From endemics to exotics (cluster caterpillar, northern armyworm and fall armyworm)
  • Biosecurity requirements for moving used cotton machinery and equipment
• Cotton production and management guidelines:
  • Cotton Production in Northern Australia | CottonInfo manual
  • Northern Australia Broadacre Cropping Manual by NT Farmers
  • Wet season planted cotton: NORpak Burdekin and North Queensland coastal dry tropics
  • Dry season planted cotton: NORpak Ord River Irrigation Area
• Tools:
  • Tropical Canopy Management Tool