Bacterial blight found in Texas cotton fields

Bacterial blight has been observed in the High Plains area of Texas following moderate temperatures and wet conditions seen from May to July, including on varieties of cotton once thought to be previously resistant or immune to it.

In Plains, Texas, the disease was found in all plots, and symptoms were first thought to be present in nearly a quarter of the plants in each plot. However, the percentage of plants affected was found to be lower after further study.

The symptoms on the resistant and immune plants are not worse than the plants susceptible to bacteria blight, but researchers still do not know why the bacterial blight is occurring on these plants at all.

Jason Woodward and Terry Wheeler from Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center do not think yield of the resistant or immune varieties will be affected, but they want to document fields where the bacterial blight was present in order to see if it appears again next season.

Anyone who wishes to report their field or who has questions about bacterial blight in cotton should contact Wheeler or Woodward by phone or email at Texas A&M University.