Project Title: Development of Improved Cotton Germplasm for the High Plains of Texas

Principal Investigator: Carol Kelly

OBJECTIVE

Since its inception in 1982, the overall objective of the Plains Cotton Improvement Program has been improved fiber quality. Subobjectives for the breeding program include education and advocacy about importance of fiber quality through communication and interaction with seed developers; to improve the variety development process for fiber quality by publishing research results; and to develop cotton genetic resources that address regional constraints of the High Plains production region. Maintaining awareness and understanding of potential demands and fiber quality issues that may be critical in the future is an ongoing long-term goal.

Project Title: Southern High Plains Agronomic Cotton Evaluation (RACE) Trials

Principal Investigator: Ken Legé

Crosby County Trials Results

Lubbock County Trial Results

Project Title: Texas Panhandle Replicated Agronomic Cotton Evaluation (RACE) Trials

Principal Investigator: Jourdan Bell

We will publish the rest of the trial results when they are released. 

Project Title: Enhancement of Post-Harvest Research on High Plains Cotton Varieties

Principal Investigator: John D. Wanjura

OBJECTIVE

To improve the consistency and reliability in the data from research efforts to quantify varietal performance across the Texas High Plains with regard to yield, fiber quality, and spinning performance. Specifically, we will provide equipment and expertise for harvesting and ginning cultivars from several locations across the High Plains and provide lint samples for spinning and yarn testing which have been processed under uniform conditions.

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Project Title: Insect Pest Management in Texas High Plains Cotton

Principal Investigator: Megha N. Parajulee

OBJECTIVE

Our current research/extension focus is on developing ecologically intensive strategies for cotton pest management, including crop phenology, cultivar, non-crop habitat, irrigation, and fertility management towards reducing insect pest pressure. Our research has demonstrated the need for continuing investigation of basic behavior and life patterns of insects while having strong field-based applied research to bridge the gap between basic, problem-solving science and producer-friendly management recommendations. We have assembled a strong group of people to work as a team to examine multiple disciplines within the broad theme of Cotton IPM. We invest considerable time and manpower resources in investigating the behavior and ecology of major cotton pests of the High Plains with the goal of developing management thresholds based on cotton production technology and economics, with particular focus on limited water production system. Our Program has successfully leveraged research funds based on the funding provided by PCIC to support our research effort. We are excited about and greatly value our Cotton Entomology research and extension partnerships with multidisciplinary scientists at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Center in Lubbock and statewide field crop entomologists, together with area IPM agents in the region, to continue this partnership as we challenge ourselves to deliver the best cotton insect-pest management recommendations to our Texas High Plains producers. Together, we have maintained the Texas High Plains area as a characteristically low cotton insect-pest prevalence region in the U.S. cotton belt.

Bacterial Blight Project

Principal Investigators: Terry Wheeler and Carol Kelley

SUMMARY:

Bacterial blight on cotton is currently caused by Xanthomonas citri pv. malvacearum (Xcm), race 18. The bacteria will survive the winter in cotton fields primarily on seed left from lint that is on the ground. New infestations of Xcm can occur from planting seed of blight susceptible varieties. Acid delinting seed can kill the bacteria on the exterior of the seed, but internal seed infections will survive. The primary method of managing bacterial blight is to utilize blight resistant varieties. There is an excellent source of resistance found in the B12 gene to race 18 of Xcm, and many sources of germplasm that have this gene. Some commercial seed companies do utilize markers to determine whether a line has the B12 gene, but it is still important to test cultivars to make sure the resistance is working. Other companies may not have good molecular markers for B12. Starting in 2000, we (plant pathologist and cotton breeder) began a program to spray cotton in fields with Xcm, using a method that caused minimal damage (usually) on the plants, but allowed us to see if blight symptoms developed approximately 14-21 days after application. This method has been successful under a wide range of weather conditions. The commercial seed companies are able to rate even their early generation material, if they desire, to make a determination if plants or plots are resistant or susceptible to bacterial blight.

Fusarium Wilt Project

Principal Investigators: Terry Wheeler and Marina Rondon

SUMMARY:

Fusarium wilt, which is caused by a combination of the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. vasinfectum (FOV, typically race 1 and/or 2) and root-knot nematode has historically been catastrophic on cotton in the Southern High Plains when highly susceptible varieties are planted. Prior to 1998, this region grew only a few stripper cotton varieties, and while these varieties were susceptible to root-knot nematode and Fusarium wilt, they were not highly susceptible. Yield losses would occur, but the disease would show up later in the summer, and not be catastrophic. In the early 2000’s, the continuous planting of the newly introduced FiberMax cotton varieties caused fields to lose up to 75% of their stands to Fusarium wilt, with plants dying typically by 60 days after planting. Another round of catastrophic losses in certain fields occurred from 2015- 2020, with the introduction of root-knot nematode resistant varieties that had high susceptibility to Fusarium wilt. These newer root-knot nematode resistant varieties had been developed by marker-assisted selection, rather than earlier nematode resistant varieties which were identified often through plant or plot selections made in root-knot nematode/Fusarium wilt fields. The original sources of resistance for root-knot nematode resistant varieties were the Auburn or M lines developed by Ray Shepherd of the USDA-ARS, and they had demonstrated resistance to both root-knot nematode and Fusarium wilt. Apparently when molecular markers for root-knot nematode resistance were used for plant selections, the separate resistance genes for Fusarium wilt were lost.

In 2017, FOV race 4 was identified in El Paso and Hudspeth Counties. Symptomatic plants had been found as early as 2012 by Jim Olvey, a Pima cotton breeder with O&A Enterprises in that region. Since FOV can be spread over long distances by seed, there is concern that it has already spread to other cotton growing regions in the state. It is much more difficult to identify FOV4 by symptoms in Upland cotton than on Pima cotton. It also takes sophisticated molecular techniques to identify FOV to the species and race levels. In 2017, the local plant pathologists (T. Wheeler and J. Woodward) lacked the techniques, tools, and knowledge to definitively identify FOV race 4 (or any other race) if it had shown up in the Southern High Plains. In 2019, Dr. Cecilia Monclova-Santana started work on FOV4 identification. She recruited an experienced molecular biologist, Jennifer Chagoya, to work on developing a PCR-based assay to accurately identify FOV4 and other races of FOV. Dr. Monclova-Santana left in 2022, but Jennifer Chagoya has continued to work on this project. In 2023, she tested cotton samples from around the Southern High Plains, as well as El Paso and Hudspeth Counties to see if her PCR-based protocol would accurately identify the races of FOV from isolated fungal cultures as well as directly on the roots. This project was funded by the Texas Department of Agriculture. Samples from a total of 67 fields in the Southern High Plains were tested and 7 fields from the far west region.