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Title: FREQUENCY AND RELATIVE VIRULENCE OF FUSARIUM SPP. CAUSING FRUIT ROT OF NETTED MELON

Author
item Fish, Wayne
item Bruton, Benny
item ZHANG, J.X. - FLORIDA DEPT. OF CITRUS
item MILLER, M.E. - TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: American Phytopathological Society
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/15/2000
Publication Date: 6/1/2000
Citation: FISH, W.W., BRUTON, B.D., ZHANG, J., MILLER, M. FREQUENCY AND RELATIVE VIRULENCE OF FUSARIUM SPP. CAUSING FRUIT ROT OF NETTED MELON. AMERICAN PHYTOPATHOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 2000.V. 90. P. S24.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Fruit rot of netted-melon, caused by Fusarium spp., can be severe when environmental conditions and fruit development stages are favorable for infection. From a total of 607 isolations taken over a 7 year period, F. semitectum (44%), F. solani (25%), and F. equiseti (21%) were the most frequently isolated. Whereas F. semitectum was most frequently isolated from melons grown in Oklahoma (39%) and Texas (49%), F. equiseti (72%) and F. acuminatum (42%) were most frequently isolated from California and Colorado melons, respectively. In inoculation tests, isolates of F. semitectum (5.8 cm(^2)), F. equiseti (5.4 cm(^2)), F. solani (4.9 cm(^2)) and F. acuminatum (4.5 cm(^2)) produced the largest areas of decay while F. oxysporum (3.76 cm(^2)) and F. moniliforme (2.57 cm(^2)) produced significantly smaller lesions. Although polygalacturonase (PG) was detected in extracts from decayed fruit tissue representing 6 isolates of each species, there was no relationship between PG activity and lesion size.