The New Normal: Target Spot, Bacterial Blight, and Root-Rotting Fovs

Five years ago, Target Spot caused by Corynespora cassicola was a recently discovered disease in South Alabama and Georgia; Bacterial Blight caused by Xanthomonas citri pv. malvacearum had flared in Arkansas and Mississippi after a long, near-absence in the Eastern Belt, and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. vasinfectum race 4 (FOV4) was disturbing novelty in the San Joaquin Valley (SJV) of California. All of these diseases of Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) are now considerably worse. This symposium will give an update on what is currently known about these three "emerging" diseases of cotton and current areas of research.