Chemical Control Practices, Crop Rotation and Fusarium Race 4: Preliminary Trials

Multiple greenhouse container studies have been conducted to evaluate impacts of specific soil-applied chemical treatments and crop rotations on Fusarium race 4 in cotton.   In each of the chemical treatment comparisons, infested soil was collected from confirmed infested farm sites, and brought to a greenhouse location for trials.  In these tests, the treated soil volume was one of the the variables tested, with comparisons made between treatment of full soil volume versus treatment only of the upper half of the soil volume in which cotton plants were grown. Impacts of treatments on cotton survival and stem vascular staining levels were evaluated as relative indicators of impacts on Fusarium race 4 in multiple cotton varieties differing in resistance to this pathogen.  Initial small scale container studies with soil severely infested with race 4 Fusarium were also conducted to test impacts of several types of incorporated crop residues on cotton survival and vascular staining.