Cotton crop the smallest in 40 years, but tough times forge innovative new generation of growers

Source: ABC 7.30 Report – 17 June 2020

Cotton was once known as crop that required a lot of water and a lot of insecticide, but … Since the 1990s the cotton industry has strived become more efficient, and according to industry figures, cotton grown today in Australia uses using 48 per cent less water, 97 per cent less insecticide and 34 per cent less land.

The varieties of cotton grown today have been genetically modified to resist insects and allow the crop to be sprayed for weeds without killing the plant.