Site-Specific Management of Cotton Root Rot Using Airborne and Satellite Imagery

Cotton root rot is a serious cotton disease that can now be effectively controlled with Topguard Terra Fungicide. The objectives of this research were to demonstrate how site-specific fungicide application could be implemented based on historical remote sensing imagery and variable rate technology. Procedures were developed for creating binary prescription maps from historical airborne and satellite imagery. Two different variable rate liquid control systems were adapted to two existing cotton planters, respectively, for site-specific fungicide application at planting. One system was used for site-specific application on two fields in 2015 and two different fields in 2016 near Edroy, Texas and the other system on two fields in both years near San Angelo, Texas. Airborne multispectral imagery taken during the growing seasons was used to monitor the performance of the site-specific treatments. Two years of field experiments showed that the variable rate systems performed well and site-specific fungicide treatments effectively controlled cotton root rot. Any newly infected areas identified by the imagery will be added to the prescription maps for future use. The results of this research will provide cotton growers, crop consultants, and agricultural dealers with practical guidelines for implementing site-specific fungicide application using historical imagery and variable rate technology for effective management of cotton root rot.