Prepared by: Dr.

Nagaraja, H

Diseases of Cotton and Their Management

Disease Pathogen/causal agent
Bacterial blight or Angular leaf spot or Xanthomonas campestris pv. malvacearum
Black arm
Fusarium wilt Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. vasinfectum
Verticillium wilt Verticillium dahliae
Grey or Areolate mildew Ramularia areola
Alternaria leaf spot Alternaria macrospora
Rust Puccinia cacabata, Phakopsora gossypii
Cotton leaf curl Cotton leaf curl virus
Cotton necrosis Cotton tobacco streak virus

1. Bacterial blight or Angular leaf spot or Black arm

C.A: Xanthomonas campestris pv. malvacearum
 It is an important disease in Maharashtra, Karnataka, A.P., Tamil Nadu and Madhya
Pradesh.
 The bacterium attacks all stages from seed to harvest. Usually five common phases
of symptoms are noticed.
Symptoms:
1. Seedling blight
2. Angular leaf spot
3. Vein blight or vein necrosis or black vein
4. Black arm
5. Square rot / Boll rot
1. Seedling blight:
 Small, water-soaked, circular or irregular lesions develop on the cotyledons.
 Infection spreads to stem through petiole and cause withering and death of seedlings.
2. Angular leaf spot:

 Small, dark green, water soaked areas develop on lower surface of leaves, enlarge
gradually and become angular.
 These spots restricted by veins and veinlets and spots are visible on both the surface
of leaves.
 As the lesions become older, they turn to reddish brown colour and infection
spreads to veins and veinlets.
 Prepared by: Dr. Nagaraja, H

3. Vein blight or vein necrosis or black vein:

 The infection of veins causes blackening of the veins and veinlets, gives a typical
‘blighting’ appearance.
 On the lower surface of the leaf, bacterial oozes are formed as crusts or scales.
 The infection also spreads from veins to petiole and cause blighting leads to
defoliation.
4. Black arm:
 Brown to black lesions are formed on stem and fruiting branches to cause premature
drooping off of the leaves.
 Cracking of stem and gummosis, resulting in breaking of the stem which hang
typically as dry black twig to give a characteristic “black arm” symptom.
5. Square rot / Boll rot:
 On the bolls, water soaked lesions appear and turn into dark black and sunken
irregular spots.
 The infection slowly spreads to entire boll and shedding occurs.
 The infections on mature bolls lead to premature bursting of bolls.
 The pathogen also infects the seed and causes reduction in size and viability of the
seeds.
Disease cycle:
 The bacterium survives on infected plant debris in soil for several years and also
seed borne.
 The bacterium also attacks other hosts like Jatropha and other wild cotton species.
 The primary infection starts mainly from the seed-borne bacterium.
 The secondary spread of the bacteria may be through wind, rain splash, irrigation
water, insects and other implements.
 The bacterium enters through natural openings or insect caused wounds.
Favourable Conditions:
 Optimum soil temperature of 26- 280C,
 High atmospheric temperature of 30-400C,
 Relative humidity of 85%
 Early sowing, delayed thinning, poor tillage, late irrigation and potassium deficiency
in soil.
 Rain followed by bright sunshine during the months of October and November are
highly favourable.
 Prepared by: Dr. Nagaraja, H

Management:
 Remove and destroy the infected plant debris.
 Rogue out the volunteer cotton plants and weed hosts.
 Follow crop rotation with non-host crops.
 Early thinning, good tillage, early irrigation, early earthing up and addition of potash
to the soil reduces disease incidence.
 Grow resistant varieties like HG-9, BJA 592, G-27, Sujatha, 1412 CRH 71 and
Suvin is tolerant.
 Delint the cotton seeds with concentrated sulphuric acid at 125ml/kg of seed.
 Gossypium herbaceum and G. arboreum are almost immune. G. barbadense, G.
hirsutum, G. herbaceum var typicum and G. herbaceum var acerifolium have
considerable resistance.
 Treat the delinted seeds with Carboxin at 2 g/kg seed or soak the seeds in 1000 ppm
Streptomycin sulphate overnight or treat the seed with hot water at 52-560C for 10-
15 minutes.
 Spray with Streptomycin sulphate (Agrimycin 100), 500 ppm along with Copper
oxychloride at 0.3%.
2. Fusarium wilt: Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. vasinfectum
Symptoms:
 The disease affects the crop at all stages.
 The earliest symptoms appear on the seedlings in the cotyledons which turn yellow
and then brown.
 Sometimes partial wilting occurs; where in only one portion of the plant is affected,
the other remaining free.
 Browning or blackening of vascular tissues is the other important symptom.
 The leaves loose their turgidity, gradually turn brown, droop and finally drop off.
Disease cycle:
 The fungus can survive in soil as saprophyte for many years and chlamydospores
act as resting spores.
 The pathogen is both externally and internally seed-borne.
 The primary infection is mainly from dormant hyphae and chlamydospores in the
soil.
 Prepared by: Dr. Nagaraja, H

 The secondary spread is through conidia and chlamydospores which are

disseminated by irrigation water.
Favourable Conditions:
 Soil temperature of 20-300C,
 Hot and dry periods followed by rains, heavy black soils with an alkaline reaction.
 Increased doses of nitrogen and phosphatic fertilizers.
 wounds caused by nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) and grubs of Ashweevil
(Myllocerus pustulatus).
Management:
 Field sanitation and deep summer ploughing.
 Apply increased doses of potash with a balanced dose of nitrogenous and
phosphatic fertilizers.
 Grow disease resistant varieties of G. hirsutum and G. barbadense like Varalakshmi,
Vijaya, Pratap, Jayadhar, Jarila, Jyothi, G 22 and Verum.
 Multiply Trichoderma viride (2kg) in 50 kg of FYM for 15 days and then apply to the
soil.
 Follow mixed cropping with non-host crops
 Treat the acid-delinted seeds with Carboxin or Chlorothalonil at 4 g/kg or
Carbendazim@2g/kg seed
3. Verticillium wilt: Verticillium dahliae
Symptoms:
 The symptoms are seen when the crop is in squares and bolls.
 Plants infected at early stages are severely stunted.
 The first symptoms can be seen as distinct mottling of leaves with pale yellowish
irregular areas at the margins and between the principal veins. (Tiger Stripe
symptoms noticed on leaves)
 The necrosis of the leaves spreads from lower to upper leaves and there is heavy
defoliation.
 Splitting of stem shows pinkish to pinkish brown discolouration of the woody
tissue which may be continuous or interrupted.
Disease cycle:
 The fungus also infects the other hosts like brinjal, chilli, tobacco and bhendi.
 The primary spread is through the microsclerotia or conidia in the soil.
 Prepared by: Dr. Nagaraja, H

 The secondary spread is through the contact of diseased roots to healthy ones and
through dissemination of infected plant parts through irrigation water and other
implements.
Favourable Conditions:
 Low temperature of 15-200C, low lying and ill-drained soils, heavy soils with
alkaline reaction and heavy doses of nitrogenous fertilizers favours the disease.
Management:
 Remove and destroy the infected plant debris after deep ploughing in summer months.
 Grow disease resistant varieties like Sujatha, Suvin and CBS 156.
 Apply FYM or compost at 10t/ha.
 Follow crop rotation by growing paddy or Lucerne or chrysanthemum for 2-3
years.
 Treat the delinted seeds with Carboxin@4g/kg or Carbendazim at 2 g/kg.
 Spot drench with 0.1 % Benomyl or Carbendazim.

4. Grey or Areolate mildew: Ramularia areola

Symptoms:
 The disease usually appears on the under surface of the lower leaves when the crop is
nearing maturity.
 Irregular to angular pale translucent lesions which measure 3-4 mm develop on
the lower surface, usually bound by veinlets.
 On the upper surface, lesions appear as light green or yellow green specks.
 Whitish grey or frosty powdery growth, consisting of conidiophores of the fungus,
appears on the lower surface.
 When several spots coalesce, the entire leaf surface is covered by white to grey
powdery growth.
 The affected leaves dry up from margin, turn yellowish brown and fall off
prematurely.
Disease cycle:
 The fungus survives in the infected crop residues, perennial cotton plants and self-
sown cotton plants .
 Primary infection : conidia from infected plant debris.
 Secondary spread: wind, rain splash, irrigation water and implements.
 Prepared by: Dr. Nagaraja, H

Favourable Conditions:
 Wet humid conditions during winter cotton season.
 Intermittent rains during North-East monsoon season.
 Low temperature (20-30 OC ) during October-January.
 Close planting, excessive application of nitrogenous fertilizers.
 Very early sowing or very late sowing of cotton.
Management:
 Remove and burn the infected crop residues.
 Rogue out the self-sown cotton plants during summer months.
 Grow the resistant varieties like Sujatha and Varalakshmi.
 Avoid excessive application of nitrogenous fertilizers/manures.
 Adopt the correct spacing based on soil conditions and varieties.
 Spray the crop with Carbendazim@0.1% or BM@1% or Wettable sulphur at
1.25-2.0 kg/ha, repeat after 15 days.
5. Alternaria leaf spot : Alternaria macrospora
Symptoms:
 Small, pale to brown, round or irregular spots measuring 0.5 - 3 mm in diameter and
cracked centers appears on the affected leaves of the plant.
 Affected leaves become dry and fall off.
 The disease may cause cankers on the stem.
 The infection spreads to the bolls and finally fall off.
Disease cycle:
 Primary source of inoculum: Crop residues and infected seeds
 Secondary spread : Air borne conidia
Managemant:
 Removal and destruction of crop debris
 Spray : Bacillus subtilis (BSC 5) – 0.04% on 60, 90 and 120 days after sowing.
 Spray any one of the following:
Copper Oxychloride 0.2%
Chlorothalonil 0.2%
Difenaconazole- 0.05% 60, 90 and 120 days after sowing.
 Prepared by: Dr. Nagaraja, H

6. Rust; Puccinia cacabata, Phakopsora gossypii

Symptoms:
 Appears as small, yellowish spots or pustules on leaves, bracts, green bolls and stems.
 These enlarge, developing orange to reddish centers.
 Pustules are surrounded by purple borders. Spots become brown with age.
 Severe infections may cause defoliation and reduction in the size of the bolls.
Disease cycle:
 Wild gramma grass, which serves as an alternate host
 The disease spreads mainly through air borne uredospores.
Favourable Conditions:
 High humidity
 Moderate temperatures are conducive for the disease.
Management:
 Remove and destroy the infected gramma grass.
 Spray Plantavax @0.1% or Mancozeb@0.2% prior to first spore showers from
gramma grass.
7. Cotton Leaf Curl: Cotton leaf curl virus
Symptoms:
 Two types of symptoms are associated with Cotton leaf curl virus- infected cotton.
 A typical, severe upward or downward leaf curl symptom accompanied by foliar
discoloration and mosaic.
 Small vein thickening which is characterized by foliar enations, a slight mosaic and
leaf curling.
Transmission:
 The disease transmitted by white fly - Bemisia tabaci
Management:
 Elimination of weeds near cotton fields in reduce the virus and vector reservoirs.
 Chemical control to reduce whitefly vector population Imidachloprid @ 0.1%