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Have you noticed some of your cotton plants looking wilted, then falling over dead soon after? If so, the culprit could be post emergent rhizoctonia solani. It is a common disease that causes seedling death in cotton plants after they emerge, but while the plants still have a tender green stem. It can create brown or black lesions on the stems where they contact the soil. The lesions can be sunken which is a symptom called “soreshin.” “Wirestem” is another symptom you might see where the stem is girdled or pinch near the soil surface. Rhizoctonia solani is something we normally see when soil conditions are cool and wet; however, it can sometimes survive in warmer conditions. Rhizoctonia can survive on old plant debris from previous crops.

The best management practices are to plant seed that has been treated with a good fungicide package and/or use an in-furrow fungicide at planting. For more information on post emergent rhizoctonia and other seedling diseases, check out these articles and publications below:

UGA Extension Article: Seedling Diseases and Management in Cotton

Texas A&M Publication: Management of Seedling Diseases in Cotton

Soreshin on Cotton Seedlings