Cotton Industry Targeting Efforts To Address New Virus

By: John Hart

Cotton farmers across the Southeast and Mid-South are urged to be on the lookout for a new disease, cotton leaf roll dwarf virus, that has scientists worried and wondering just how big a problem it may be now and in the future.

The new virus has been top of mind for many in the Georgia and Alabama cotton industry since it raised its head in August to October of 2017 when plants displaying symptoms of a possible virus were observed in producer fields in several Alabama counties.

Subsequently, the virus was identified as cotton leaf roll dwarf virus (CLRDV) in samples collected from Barbour County in Alabama. In September 2018, cotton plants with similar symptoms were collected from the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station Plant Breeding Unit in Elmore County. Auburn scientists detected the virus in 24 counties in 2018, while the University of Georgia Extension notes that the virus was detected in 14 Georgia counties.

In late June of this year, CLRDV was also confirmed in Florida, Georgia and Tennessee as well as Mississippi and Louisiana. University of Georgia Extension notes that the virus was detected in 14 Georgia counties in fall 2018.