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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #110407
Title: YELLOW VINE MANAGEMENT

Author
item Pair, Sammy
item Bruton, Benny
item MITCHELL, F. - TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
item FLETCHER, J. - OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: Horticulture Industries Show
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/7/2000
Publication Date: 1/7/2000
Citation: PAIR, S.D., BRUTON, B.D., MITCHELL, F., FLETCHER, J. YELLOW VINE MANAGEMENT. PROCEEDING OF THE 19TH ANNUAL HORTICULTURE INDUSTRIES CONFERENCE. 2000. P. 145-148.

Interpretive Summary: Yellow vine disease of cucurbits is a serious new disease that has proved devastating for watermelon producers in mainly the Cross Timbers Vegetational Area of Oklahoma and Central Texas. The disease has now been confirmed in Tennessee, Massachusetts, and is suspected in New York. A multidisciplinary team of scientists from USDA, Oklahoma State University, and the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station has formed a team to research disease and to investigate and develop integrated management strategies designed to reduce losses from yellow vine. The team has described the geographic areas and cucurbit crops affected, and has determined the causal agent, a phloem-limited bacterium that is believed to be vectored by insects. Although no satisfactory controls for the disease have been developed, researchers have discovered that triploid seedless melons are less affected by the disease than diploid types. Different levels of resistance exist in triploid cultivars suggesting that there are opportunities to identify and develop resistant germplasm for incorporation into commercial lines.

Technical Abstract: Yellow vine disease of cucurbits appeared during the early 1990's and proved devastating for watermelon producers in mainly the Cross Timbers Vegetational Area of Oklahoma and Central Texas. The disease has since been confirmed in Tennessee, Massachusetts, and is suspected in New York. A multidisciplinary team of scientists from USDA, Oklahoma State University, and the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station has formed a tea to research the etiology of the disease and to formulate integrated management strategies designed to reduce losses from yellow vine. The team has described the geographic areas and cucurbit crops affected, and has determined the causal agent, a phloem-limited bacterium that is believed to be vectored by insects. Although no satisfactory controls for the disease have been developed, researchers have discovered that triploid seedless melons are less affected by the disease than diploid types. Variable levels of resistance exist in triploid cultivars suggesting that there are opportunities to identify and develop resistant germplasm for incorporation into commercial lines.