Bacterial fruit blotch caused by Acidovorax citrulli is a serious disease of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) in the U.S. Currently, there are no varieties resistant to the disease. In a 3-year study, 1452 accessions and cultivars were tested for resistance to fruit blotch at the immature fruit stage, where resistance is most important for growers.
Of 40 resistant accessions identified in the screening study and the retest, 5 had high resistance (compared with Charleston Gray): PI 494819 (Citrullus lanatus), PI 596659 (Citrullus amarus), PI 596670 (Citrullus amarus), PI 490384 (Citrullus mucosospermus), and PI 596656 (Citrullus amarus). Those can be obtained from the USDA Germplasm collection by plant breeders interested in developing new varieties having fruit blotch resistance.
Read the article:
- Screening for bacterial fruit blotch resistance in watermelon fruit.
by: James Daley and Todd C. Wehner
Published: 10 September 2020 in Crop Science. (61: 1228-1240)September 2020
DOI: 10.1002/csc2.20329
