Disease management

Effective disease management should be integrated within the management of the whole farm, focusing on the crop, the potential pathogen (disease), and the farming system. The implementation of basic disease management strategies, even where disease in not evident, will reduce the risk of disease problems in the future. Remember, the absence of disease symptoms does not always indicate the absence of disease.

Once in a field, diseases are unlikely to be completely controlled through the eradication of a pathogen. However, effective disease management can reduce the effect of a disease on subsequent crops and the risk of the disease spreading between fields and farms.

 It is important to be informed about what diseases are present and where they occur on your farm to implement effective management strategies, as different diseases have different management strategies.

Growers and consultants can conduct their own early and late season disease surveys to monitor and record findings allowing a comparison over time. Farm staff should be trained to look for and report unusual symptoms in the crop. Contact your state department (cotton) pathologist for assistance in identifying and confirming suspected diseases.

At planting time

•  Optimal seed bed conditions and sowing temperature
• Variety selection

In crop

• Irrigation scheduling
• Agronomic management
• Balanced crop nutrition
• Fungicide use when appropriate
• Monitoring for disease presence or changes

Post-harvest

• Controlling alternative hosts and volunteers
• Manage crop resides appropriately
• Use crop rotations to help reduce disease inoculum in the field

Year round

• Managing insect vectors
• Farm biosecurity and hygiene

More information on these different strategies can be found in the Cotton Pest Management Guide.

• Monitor crops for disease symptoms and know what diseases are present. Consider doing a disease survey within your fields to track the severity and incidence of disease over time.
• Send in disease samples to the industry pathology services when unusual or new symptoms are present to confirm the pathogen. See below on how to collect and send plant samples for diagnostics. 
• Ensure all farm personnel, contractors and visitors, where possible, are made aware of diseases on farm and unusual disease symptoms are reported. 
• Where pathogens are known to be present, plant resistant varieties where possible to assist in controlling diseases.
• Implement an integrated disease management strategy across the whole farm, with tactics including optimal planting date and temperature, nutrition and irrigation. 
• Control weeds, volunteer and ratoon cotton throughout the year.
• Manage crop residues and consider crop rotations based on best practice for diseases present in the field.
• Ensure vehicles, equipment and people have followed Come Clean Go Clean and farm biosecurity procedures. 

visit the myBMP Disease Management module for more information on disease management