In many instances in which soil fungicides are evaluated for control of cotton seedling diseases, experiments are established on naturally-infested plot areas. Frequently, unless conditions are extremely favorable for disease development, little usable information is obtained from the experiments. During 1994-96, artificial inoculation of field plots with the major seedling disease fungi Rhizoctonia solani and Pythium spp. was used in an attempt to overcome some of the variation and failures encountered with naturally-infested plots.