A strain of Aspergillus flavus that does not produce aflatoxins was applied to soils planted with cotton at the Yuma Valley Agricultural Center in order to assess strain ability to competitively exclude aflatoxin producing strains during cotton boll infection and thereby prevent aflatoxin contamination of cottonseed. In both 1989 and 1990, the atoxigenic strain displaced other infecting strains during cotton boll development. Displacement was associated with significant reductions (75% to 82% in 1989, and 99% in 1990) in the quantity of aflatoxins contaminating the crop at maturity. Although frequency of infected locules differed between years, in both years displacement occurred without increases in the amount of developing boll infection. Currently, an Experimental Use Permit is being sought from the EPA for tests on commercial acreage

Field studies were conducted at four western Maricopa County commercial sites in 1994 to determine whether Temik 15G® would suppress rootknot nematode at low to moderate populations. Three of the experiments were on Upland D +PL 5415 with the fourth on Pima S-6. Sites were chosen based on pre- season sampling with individual field populations ranging from 0.005 (low) - 3.6 (high) rootknot nematode juveniles per cubic centimeter (cc) of soil volume. Each study consisted of four treatments with six replications. The following treatments were used at all test sites: (1) Untreated check, (2) 5 lbs. Temik 15G at planting, (3) 5 lbs. Temik 15G at planting, 15 lbs. Temik 15G sidedressed at pinhead square, (4) 5 gal. Telone 11® pre-plant. Sampling for thrips and lygus was conducted at all test sites to provide insight regarding yield effects resulting from control of insect versus those due to suppression of nematode. There were no significant yield differences between the untreated check and either Temik treatment. However, significant yield increases were measured with Telone versus all treatments at all locations. Insect pressures were minimal in all cases. Temik 15G did not suppress nematode damage at any population level.

The effect of foliar treatments for prevention of Alternaria leaf spot was evaluated in the field on six varieties of Pima cotton. Disease was significantly reduced by protective sprays of mancozeb and micronized sulfur but not by foliar applications of urea in trials at the University of Arizona Safford Agricultural Center in Safford, AZ. Treatments had no significant effects on yields. Significantly fewer lesions developed on Pima variety UA 4 than on the other varieties. Disease pressure was relatively light, and even though scheduled preventive sprays with mancozeb were effective, fungicide applications probably would not increase yields under the environmental conditions of this experiment.

Transgenic Bt cotton varieties that are resistant to pink bollworm should sustain less feeding damage to bolls and cottonseed, compared to non-Bt varieties that are more susceptible to feeding damage by pink bollworm larvae. Prior to boll opening, the aflatoxin producing fungus Aspergillus flavus cannot penetrate undamaged cotton bolls. Thus resistance to pink bollworm could result in reduced aflatoxin contamination under high pink bollworm pressure. Cottonseed aflatoxin levels of Bt and non-Bt varieties were compared at various planting and harvest dates. Bt and non-Bt cotton varieties had similar cottonseed aflatoxin levels. Long season production systems favored high cottonseed aflatoxin levels, compared to short season production systems, regardles of the cotton variety grown.

We studied the impact of three pre plant herbicides, trifluralin, pendimethalin and prometryn on the incidence and the development of Rhizoctonia solani- induced cotton seedling damping-off in the field. In a field experiment conducted in Safford, Arizona, pre plant application of pendimethalin or prometryn but not trifluralin caused significant (P < 0.05) increases in disease incidence. In another field experiment in Tucson, Arizona, significant (P < 0.05) increase in disease incidence was observed in plots treated with prometryn and not in those treated with pendimethalin and trijuralin. In Tucson field experiment, application of herbicides also affected disease development as judged by the slope of disease progress curves.

We conducted four field trials in April 1995 and 1996 in Arizona to compare the effectiveness of the following treatments to reduce cotton seedling damping-off incidence: 1) a soil drench of an isolate of the bacterium, Burkholderia cepacia (DI), recovered by us from cotton plants; 2) isolate D1 barley meal formulation; 3) Deny® seed treatment (a peat moss -based formulation of another isolate of B. cepacia, CCT Corp. Carlsbad, California); 4) Deny® soil drench; 5) Kodiak® seed treatment (a formulation of the bacterium, Bacillus subtilis, Gustafson Inc., Dallas, Texas); 6) a mixture of three fungicides Metalaxyl, Triadimenol, and Thiram seed treatment; and 7) a mixture of Metalaxyl, Triadimenol, Thiram, and Kodiak® seed treatment. Except for DI, the other products are being marketed for the control of cotton seedling damping-off Only DI soil drench and a mixture of the three fungicides seed treatment increased cotton stand significantly (P ≤ 0.05) in three of four field trials.

The distribution of S and L strains of Aspergillus flavus is more stable than previously realized. Analysis with GIS/geostatistics shows that patches of similar S strain incidence persist over years. This information will be exceptionally useful to programs involved with or planning large-scale treatments to reduce aflatoxin contamination because it can be used to spatially focus treatments.

Geminivirus diseases of cotton are on the rise, worldwide, yet few have been studied in adequate detail to permit the implementation of rational approaches to disease control. The rising costs of managing the whitefly vector, coupled with substantial losses caused by geminivirus-incited diseases now hinder cotton production by requiring inputs that are beyond economic feasibility. The need for geminivirus disease resistant cultivars in diverse cotton producting areas and against different viral genotypes presents a new challenge. To meet this need, information about the identity, distribution, and relevant biotic characteristics of cotton -infecting geminiviruses is needed This project addresses this problem through the molecular analysis of the genomes of cotton-infecting geminivirus from cotton throughout the world Here, sequence similarities of the coat protein gene and of the non-coding IR/CR involved in regulating virus replication and transcription were examined by comparative sequence analysis to achieve virus identification. This is the first effort to determine virus identity and to map the distribution of geminiviruses on a global basis. The outcome of this effort will be a data base containing biotic and molecular information that will permit rapid and accurate geminivirus identification, and the selection of relevant viral species for development of cotton cultivars with disease resistance to the geminiviruses specific to individual production areas.

Virus diseases of cotton have historically been of only sporadic importance to global cotton production. Recent devastating epidemics in Pakistan and other areas have brought new awareness to the potential for disaster of a pathogen once considered to be of a minor importance. Under changing conditions this pathogen (cotton leaf curl virus) has emerged as a serious problem in Pakistan and India. Cotton leaf curl virus does not occur in the United States or the rest of the western hemisphere but recent experience worldwide is a reminder that pathogens, such as this geminivirus, can be moved easily from one part of the world to another and therefor we need to be aware of the potential impact of such pathogens on local crops.

Nine field trials were conducted between 1994 and 1997 in Buckeye and Gila Bend, Arizona to determine the effect of soil fumigation with Telone II on the yield of cotton following rotation with Durum wheat. Telone was shank injected at two or more rates (0, 3, or 5 gal/acre) in fields previously maintained with a cotton-wheat-summer/winter fallow rotation. Eight fields were planted to Upland and one field to Pima cotton. Eight of the nine studies resulted in a statistically significant lint yield increase with the 5 gallon rate compared to the untreated check. Seven of the nine studies resulted in a positive net economic return on investment ranging from $0.78/acre to $103.29/acre. In one trial where all three rates were compared, yield at the 5 gallon rate was increased 141 lint lbs/ac compared to the 3 gallon rate which did not differ from the control.