Cultivar, irrigation, and soil contribution to the enhancement of Verticillium wilt disease in cotton

Verticillium wilt of cotton is incited by Verticillium dahliae Kleb., which colonizes the vascular cylinder of the plant resulting in defoliation, stunting, and yield loss. This project investigated cultivar selection and soil type predisposition for management of this disease to preserve cotton yields. All cotton cultivars planted in this study were susceptible to Verticillium wilt infection and all had some amount of vascular discoloration observed. However, there were varying ranges of tolerance found among different cultivars. ST 4747 GLB2 appeared to the consistently the most tolerant of the cultivars planted and exhibited the highest yields consistently over different seasons. Verticillium wilt disease incidence and severity were increased with irrigation in the controlled microplot test over six soil types. Verticillium wilt symptom severity was greater in the Decatur silt loam and Houston clay soils which have the highest clay and silt content.