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Examines lint rot of cotton bolls caused by Nigrospora oryzae in the coastal region of Alabama during 2000 and 2001. Gray lock sign and symptom in the plant; Analysis of plant tissue; Relationship between disease incidence and weather parameters.

A study of the mycoflora of upland cotton in Alabama was conducted throughout the 2000 and 2001 growing seasons. Plants were sampled at seedling, first bloom, full bloom, and maturity stages of development. Thirty-seven genera representing 58 species of fungi were isolated, including 9 species of Fusarium. Fusarium oxysporum, F. solani, and F. equiseti were the most common members of this genus occurring at all four sampling stages in both years. Eight species accounted for 67% of the total fungi isolated during the two-year study. Alternaria alternata was the most common fungus encountered, accounting for 19 and 10% of the total fungi isolated in 2000 and 2001, respectively. Twenty species of fungi are reported for the first time colonizing upland cotton tissues.

Thirty-eight species of fungi were identified in pure culture after isolation from activated sewage sludge by serial dilution. Nine species and genera were identified that had not been previously reported. In 1963, Cooke (1) published an excellent laboratory guide on the identification of fungi from polluted water, sewage, and sewage treatment systems; of approximately 30 papers cited only one (2) dealt with fungi from activated sewage sludge. Later (1970), Cooke & Pipes (3) enumerated 47 fungi consisting of 4 genera of yeasts and 33 genera of filamentous fungi that had been isolated from activated sludge. This paper reports the mycoflora of anaerobically digested sludge from a residential area in Auburn, Alabama.

Selected locations (incubators, incubator rooms, hatchers, hatcher rooms, chick pools, and egg rooms) in six commercial broiler hatcheries in Alabama were sampled for fungus species over a 12-month period (May 1977-April 1978) by open-plate techniques (cornmeal agar or Sabouraud's dextrose agar). Colonies at each location were counted at 24, 48, and 72-120 hours postexposure. Thirty-five species representing 21 genera were identified. The most prevalent genera were Cladosporium, Penicillium, Aspergillus, Geotrichum, and Fusarium. Aspergillus fumigatus was associated with clinical disease in the baby chick on several occasions, and Cladosporium cladosporioides was the most prevalent species isolated. In general, isolations increased in early spring and summer.

Forty-five fungal isolates from moldy supermarket foods were tested for toxicity to brine shrimp, and twenty-two of these isolates were subsequently tested for toxicity to chicken embryos. Highly toxigenic fungi were Cladosporium sphaerospermum from a bakery product, Fusarium oxysporum from carrots, F. solani from cabbage, Aspergillus niger and Penicillium corylophilum from bread, P. cyclopium and P. herguei from corn meal, P. lanosum from onions,P. steckii from chocolate syrup, Penicillium sp. from jelly, and Rhizopus nigricans isolates from sweet potato, applesauce, and strawberries. Approximately one-third of the fungal cultures were moderately to highly toxigenic to brine shrimp and chicken embryos, while several additional cultures were slightly toxigenic.