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Cotton Boll Cuticle, a Potential Factor in Boll Rot Resistance. Sy-ying C. Wang, Postdoctoral Fellow, Agricultural Experiment Station, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge 70803; J. A. Pinckard, Professor, Agricultural Experiment Station, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge 70803. Phytopathology 63:315-319. Accepted for publication 9 September 1972. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-63-315.

The cuticle of various-aged cotton bolls was removed and separated into waxes, cutin acids, and ethanol-soluble, water-soluble, and final residue fractions. The first four fractions were fungistatic to nine species of fungi frequently associated with boll rots. Penicillium spinulosum was not affected by any of the four fractions. The ethanol-soluble fraction had the greatest fungistatic activity; the water-soluble fraction, the least. Cuticle thickness, and quantity of waxes and cutin acids were related to boll age, being greatest for intermediate-aged bolls as they approached full size. Because all four fractions of the cuticle were fungistatic, we conclude that the quantities of the various fractions present in the thicker cuticle are partly responsible for the previously observed resistance of intermediate-aged bolls to fungal penetration.