Presence of Aspergillus flavus in developing cotton bolls and its relation to contamination of mature seeds.

Aspergillus flavus spores were dusted onto the involucral nectaries of cotton flowers. The fungus was present in 20 to 58% of the immature bolls harvested 25 or 35 days after anthesis. Among similarly inoculated bolls fully matured either in the field or under sterile conditions at ambient temperatures after excision from the plants, only 3 to 14% contained A. flavus in the seeds. There was no significant difference in the numbers of contaminated bolls between the excised and field-matured treatments. It is concluded that A. flavus is present in developing cotton bolls before dehiscence, but its presence does not ensure infection of mature seeds, and that excision does not reduce A. flavus contamination if the bolls are maintained at ambient temperatures.