Effects of Cultivar and Boll Age on Aflatoxin in Cottonseed After Inoculation with Aspergillus flavus at Simulated Exit Holes of the Pink Bollworm

Boll age at inoculation influenced the contamination of both wound-inoculated and adjacent unwounded locks. Wound-inoculated locks of young bolls (13-20 days old at inoculation) became less contaminated than similar locks of bolls 25-32 days old at inoculation. The fungus, however, moved into and contaminated unwounded locks of young bolls more extensively than those of older bolls. Thus, the maturation of the intercarpellary membrane may hinder the interlock spread of A. flavus