Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Mar 14;18(1):113.
doi: 10.1186/s13104-025-07161-y.

Screening of historical and current Upland and Pima cotton germplasm for resistance to Rhizoctonia solani

Jorge Garcia  1 , Mauricio Ulloa  2 , Robert B Hutmacher  3 , Margaret L Ellis  4
Affiliations

Screening of historical and current Upland and Pima cotton germplasm for resistance to Rhizoctonia solani

Jorge Garcia et al. BMC Res Notes. .

Abstract

Objective: The fungus Rhizoctonia solani is an important seedling pathogen to many plant hosts including cotton (Gossypium). For multiple annual crops there have been relatively few screenings of germplasm conducted to identify potential sources of resistance to R. solani, and for cotton we have not been able to identify any recent germplasm screenings for resistance to this seedling pathogen. Therefore, the objective of this study was to screen historical as well as more recently developed Upland (Gossypium hirsutum L.) and Pima (Gossypium barbadense L.) cotton germplasm for resistance/susceptibility to R. solani.

Results: The results of the R. solani screening found no significant differences among 85 Upland and 10 Pima cotton genotypes, which were all similarly susceptible to R. solani based on data for root rot and fresh root weight. While Upland and Pima cotton make up the majority of cotton grown worldwide, the lack of resistance identified in both historical and newer Upland and Pima germplasm suggests a pressing need for further exploration and selection of novel sources of resistance within the vast genetic diversity of different domesticated and wild cotton species.

Keywords: Gossypium; Rhizoctonia solani; Cotton; Host plant resistance; Seedling diseases.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Not applicable. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

References

    1. Diaz J, Garcia J, Lara C, Hutmacher RB, Ulloa M, Nichols RL, Ellis ML. Characterization of current Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. vasinfectum isolates from cotton in the San Joaquin Valley of California and Lower Valley El Paso, Texas. Plant Dis. 2021;105:1898–911. 10.1094/PDIS-05-20-1038-RE. - PubMed
    1. Dorrance AE, Kleinhenz MD, McClure SA, Tuttle NT. Temperature, moisture, and seed treatment effects on Rhizoctonia solani root rot of soybean. Plant Dis. 2003;87:533–8. 10.1094/PDIS.2003.87.5.533. - PubMed
    1. Fulton ND, Waddle BA, McCarver T. Searching for possible tolerance in cotton to seedling disease. Ark Farm Res. 1973;22:10.
    1. Jones WM, Smith CW, Starr JL. Resistance to Rhizoctonia solani and Pythium ultimum in upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L). Crop Sci. 2016;56:1784–91. 10.2135/cropsci2015.12.0767.
    1. Mathre DE, Otta JD. Sources of resistance in the genus Gossypium to several Soiborne pathogens. Plant Disease Rptr. 1967;51:864–7.

Supplementary concepts

LinkOut - more resources