Managing verticillium risk for cotton

This project is part of a broader Australian Government’s Rural R&D for Profit cross-sectoral investment assessing the implementation of digital technologies for more dynamic management of disease, stress and yield. The project provides diagnostics, surveillance, and capacity building for current and emerging pathology/disease issues. It addresses these needs through development of a molecular tool for Verticillium dahliae. A molecular assay to quantify soil inoculum levels of V. dahliae was developed, but as no direct relationship was found between inoculum quantity and disease severity, the test could not be used for planting decisions. However, it has been used to show the impact of cropping rotations on inoculum load within a given field. A plant tissue molecular tool to rapidly confirm Verticillium wilt and the presumptive VCG (Verticillium strain) is under development.