December 6, 2002

Cotton-crop management software developed for use on the Palm Operating System® (Palm OS®), or 'handheld' computers, to help farmers reduce their pesticide use, has won a major national information technology award.

Against 190 competitors, CottonLOGIC for the Palm OS® was judged winner of the 2002 Asia Pacific Australia Information-Communication-Telecommunication (ICT) Awards in the Natural Resource Management category.

This major award recognises innovation in Australian ICT that contributes to the preservation or enhancement of the Australian environment.

"CottonLOGIC is a computer based decision-support system that incorporates a range of research to
help cotton growers make cost-effective pest management, fertiliser and irrigation decisions," says
winning team leader Dr Michael Bange, CSIRO Plant Industry.

CottonLOGIC is the first decision-support software to be adapted for the Palm OS® that can run
simulation models to process data while in the field.

"Farmers can take their Palm handhelds into the field and enter data quickly and accurately into
CottonLOGIC where it will provide them with immediate feedback on the status of their cotton crop that
can be used to help reduce pesticide use," says Dr Bange.

Data can be seamlessly integrated onto a single desktop computer for more comprehensive analysis
and reporting from a number of Palm handhelds collecting data from a number of farms.

Dr Bange and software developers Stewart Whiteside and Darren Linsley were on hand at the
ceremony to receive their award.

"This award is important because it acknowledges successful research in integrated pest management
and the cotton industry's willingness to adopt new technologies to work towards environmental
sustainability," says Dr Bange.

CottonLOGIC for Palm OS®, developed by CSIRO Plant Industry and the Australian Cotton CRC with
support from the Cotton RDC, will now represent Australia in the International version of the ICT
awards to be decided in Cairns in 2003.