Quantification of FOV4 in Soils with Susceptible or Tolerant Cotton Cultivars

Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. vasinfectum race 4 (FOV4) causes severe wilting symptoms in cotton. Sixteen cotton varieties including pima and upland cotton with different reactions to FOV4 were tested in a field in El Paso, TX. Soil samples were collected at planting, mid-season and at harvest. Soil samples were used to extract DNA to further quantify FOV4 using real-time PCR. Our objective is to assess the effect of cotton varieties to FOV4 inoculum density.