Histopathology of Cotton Boll Rot Caused byColletotrichum capsici

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Abstract
The histopathological aspects of cotton boll rot caused by C. capsici were studied by using scanning electron and light microscopy. Class I (10-12 days old) greenhouse-grown cotton bolls of 2 cultivars were resistant to invasion by C. capsici and exhibited a hypersensitive response characterized by restricted lesions, plasmolysis and collapse of host epidermal cells, and pigment accumulation in subepidermal parenchyma. Histochemical tests failed to detect gossypol or hemigossypol associated with the hypersensitive lesions. Class II bolls (34-36 days old) were susceptible to invasion. Nonlignified pericarp cell walls became swollen and did not stain. Lignified pericarp tissues were more resistant to degradation and retained their staining properties. The distinctive appearance of bolls rotted by C. capsici is probably due to the differential degradation of pericarp tissues.