CucCap team members presented research results at the Southern Region ASHS meeting in Jacksonville, Florida on February 2 – 4.
Jonathan Schultheis, leader of the CucCAP extension team and members of the NC State vegetable research group, Elizabeth Indermaur and Keith Starke, presented Galia Specialty Melon Evaluations and Opportunities.
Cecilia McGregor, a member of the CucCAP watermelon team presented Fine mapping of egusi trait locus (eg) in watermelon using SNP markers with Lucky Paudel and Josh Clevenger from the Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics & Genomics at the University of Georgia.
Pat Wechter, a member of the CucCAP watermelon team presented The effects of grafting on incidence of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp niveum races 1 and 2 in watermelon with fellow researchers Josh Yeargin and Richard L. Hassell from Clemson University CREC and the USDA-ARS Vegetable Center in Charleston, SC.
Cecilia McGregor presented Discovery and Validation of Candidate Gene Allelic Variation Associated with Fruit Shape in Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) with fellow UGA researcher Reeve Legendre.
Jonathan Schultheis and fellow NC State researchers Marlee A. Trandel, PenelopePerkins-Veazie, Chris Gunter, and Eva Johannes presented Hollow heart formation in grafted and nongrafted watermelon.
Cecilia McGregor along with fellow UGA & CAGT researchers Winnie Gimode and Josh Clevenger presented Validation of a Stable Major-Effect Flowering Time Quantitative Trait Locus in Watermelon.
Jonathan Schultheis and fellow NC State researchers Penny Perkins-Veazie, T. Birdsell, and G. Ma presented Butternut squash in the south: postharvest quality after curing.
Presentations to the ASHS Watermelon research working group included Standard size watermelon cultivar yield and quality results, North Carolina, 2017 by NC State researchers Jonathan R. Schultheis and Keith D. Starke; Mini watermelon cultivar yield and quality results, North Carolina, 2017 by Keith D. Starke and Jonathan R. Schultheis; Hollow heart formation in grafted and nongrafted watermelon by Marlee A Trandel, Dr.Penelope Perkins-Veazie, Dr. Jonathan Schultheis, Dr. Chris Gunter and Dr. Eva Johannes; Powdery mildew resistant watermelon germplasm lines USVL608-PMR,USVL278-PMR, USVL313-PMR andUSVL585-PMR by Shaker Kousik, Mihir K. Mandal, Jennifer L. Ikerd, Scott Adkins and William Turechek of the U.S. Vegetable Laboratory; Screening for resistance to anthracnose in the watermelon germplasm collection using field, greenhouse and growth chamber environments by Takshay K. Patel and Todd C. Wehner. Department of Horticultural Science, North Carolina State University; Genetics of Fusarium wilt races 1 and 2 resistance in watermelon by Sandra Branham, Amnon Levi, and Pat Wechter; Molecular Dissection of Resistance Signaling during Compatible and Incompatible Watermelon- Powdery Mildew (Podosphaera xanthii) Interactions using RNA-Seq Approach. Mihir K. Mandal, Haktan Suren, Jennifer L. Ikerd and Shaker Kousik.
