Status of Virus Diseases Infecting Cotton in the Mid-Southern States

Cotton (Gossypium spp.) is one of the world’s leading agricultural crops. Cotton is also an economically important crop in the United States and is ranked third in production worldwide. In the U.S. mid southern states have a large acreage of cotton with significant production every year. Various virus diseases have been reported in cotton crops from different countries. We have started surveying cotton fields for virus diseases since 2013. The occurrence of Cotton leaf roll dwarf virus (CLRDV) in several states has brought a new threat to cotton production in the US. Since 2013, large number of cotton fields were surveyed and various virus-like symptoms were recorded in cotton fields. The up and down of those surveys and results would be discussed.  In addition, future strategies to combat any potential epidemics of virus-like disease in cotton crops will also be discussed.