In two field experiments with cotton plants cv IAC 20, conducted in soils infested with nematodes, in the State of São Paulo (Brazil), it was observed that the parasite symptoms occurred in accordance with rates of urea applied in side-dressing (0, 25, 50 and 75 kg ha-1 of N). So, it was made a rating of symptoms in each experimental plot, giving grades to plants according to the intensity of the attack: grade 1, to plants with normal development and without "carijó", popular denomination for a specific internerval chlorosis of leaves; 2, with "carijó" at basal leaves; 3, with "carijó" at basal and dispersed leaves; 4, with "carijó" in all plant including the top portion, and grade 5 to plants with generalized "carijó" and deficient development. The cotton yield capacity, determined in plots without N, decreased gradually with "carijó", mainly after grade 3.0, that in average means the dislocation of symptoms toward the plant top. Nitrogen applied contributed expressively to reduce the "carijó" symptoms and to increase foliar-N and cotton yield. Therefore, N fertilization represents an alternative to complement the varietal resistance of cotton to nematodes.
cotton; yield and N content of leaf blade; leaf yellow spotted symptoms and side-dressed N fertilization