Seed transmission of verticillium wilt of cotton

Twenty-nine cotton genotypes with varying levels of susceptibility to Verticillium dahliae were grown in infested plots at Nazilli, Aydın, in 2008–2009. The highest level of disease incidence was recorded in cultivars ‘BA-151’, ‘Celia’, ‘Çukurova-1518’, ‘Flaş’ and ‘Maraş 92’, and averaged 85–95% for all genotypes in both years. The incidence of V. dahliae in seed averaged 29.8% for cv. Çukurova-1518, 27.6% for Flaş, 24.6% for cv. BA-151, 19.0% for cv. Celia and 16.2% for Maraş 92. Two hundred seeds from each genotype were planted, two seeds per pot, in a steam-pasteurized mixture of soil, peat, and sand. Pots were placed close to each other on a greenhouse bench to obtain a thick canopy. Typical disease symptoms appeared about 12–13 weeks after sowing. Maximum disease incidence values averaged 3.3% for Celia, 4.5% for Maraş 92, 8% for BA-151, 9% for Flaş and 9.5% for Çukurova-1518.