Effects of charcoal rot of cotton, caused by Macrophomrha phaseofr'na, on fiber
quality of 11 commercial cotton cultivars (Gossypr'um barbadense) were evaluated
outdoors in a natural clay loam soil. The soil was uninfested or infested with the
fungus. At the end of the growing season, lint was obtained and subjected to the
following tests: Fiber length at 50% BL, fiber length at 2.5% S.L., fiber length
uniformity ratio (FLUR), strength at zero gauge, strength at 1f8 gauge, fiber strength
uniformity ration (FSUR), elongation, stiffness, toughness, micronaire reading,
maturity ratio, hair weight, degree of yellowness, reflectance, Congo Red, pH value,
and fiber sugar content. Analysis of variance showed that cultivar, treatment, and
cultivar at treatment interaction were significant or very highly significant source of
variation in almost all the tested properties. Cultivar (genotype) accounted for most of
the explained (model) variation in physical and mechanical characters, while
treatment (environment) accounted for almost all the explained variation in chemical
properties. Due to the significance of cultivar x treatment interaction, an interaction
least significant difference was used to compare between means of noninfested and
infested soils within cultivars for each of the tested properties. These comparison
showed that elongation, FLUR, and FSUR were the least sensitive properties to M.
phaseoir'na infection because elongation was not adversely affected in any of the
tested cultivars, while FLUR or FSUR were adversely affected in only two cultivars.
On the other hand, fiber strength at zero, and chemical properties were the most
sensitive properties to M. phaseoir'na infection because fiber strength at zero was
adversely affected in 10 cultivars, while any of the chemical properties was adversely
affected in all the tested cultivars. The other properties were adversely affected in a
number of cultivars ranged from 4 to 10. Giza 76 and Giza 85 were the least
susceptible cultivars to deterioration by M. phaseoir‘na infection. Thus, Giza 76 was
adversely affected in 6 properties, while Giza 85 was adversely affected in 5
properties. On the contrary, Giza 45, Giza 80, Giza 83, Giza 86, and Dendera were
the most susceptible cultivars to deterioration because the number of adversely
affected properties in these cultivars were 12, 12, 12, 11, and 15, respectively. The
number of adversely affected properties of GiZa 75, Giza 77, or Giza 84 was 8 and
increased to 10 in Giza i0.