VIEW ARTICLE

Effect of Field Exposure on Fungal Invasion and Deterioration of Cotton Seed. R. W. Roncadori, Associate Professor, Department of Plant Pathology and Plant Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens 30601; O. L. Brooks(2), and C. E. Perry(3). (2)(3)Associate Professor of Agronomy and Assistant Professor of Agricultural Economics, Southeast Branch Experiment Station, Midville, Georgia 30441. Phytopathology 62:1137-1139. Accepted for publication 10 April 1972. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-62-1137.

Fungal invasion and deterioration of cottonseed exposed for 0 to 6 weeks after boll opening were determined at two different locations in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain of Georgia. Incidence of fungal colonization was similar at both locations and was associated with rainfall patterns. Decreased seed viability and high free fatty acid content were correlated inversely with fungal colonization only in the Coastal Plain. A low rate of deterioration in seed exposed in the Piedmont was attributed to lower temperatures which slowed autocatalytic changes of stored materials and may have retarded fungal invasion of the seed embryo.