Before her current position as a Genetic Purity Lab Manager in the Quality Assurance Department at Sakata Seed America, Inc., in Salinas California, Bidisha Chanda worked for the USDA and conducted research for the CucCAP watermelon team at the US Vegetable Laboratory in Charleston, South Carolina.
Author: cuccap
Florida Watermelon Disease Update | June 2, 2022
The main disease seen on watermelon at this time is gummy stem blight. Producers of watermelons should continue to scout regularly for downy mildew and powdery mildew.
Watermelon Crop News | June 2022
North Florida producers have a finite harvest window following the production from the southern part of the state and preceding South Georgia production.
CucCAP scientists examine mechanisms of watermelon resistance to viral infection
Watermelon production in the U.S. and around the world faces serious threats by viral diseases, including aphid-transmitted potyviruses: papaya ringspot virus (PRSV) and zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV). In a recent study, a CucCAP team examined expression of anti-microbial/anti-viral, ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIPs) in watermelons in response to inoculation with PRSV. The PRSV-resistant citron watermelon (Citrullus amarus) exhibited high RIP expression, versus low expression in plants of the susceptible, cultivated “Charleston Gray” watermelon. This finding may offer additional genetic and genomic resources for improving potyvirus-resistance in watermelon cultivars.
Cucurbit Crop & Disease Management News | June 2022
Cucurbit Crop and Disease updates from plant pathologists and cooperative extension agents in the South and Midwest.
Cucurbit Disease updates | June 2022
On June 1, the CucCAP team observed Cucurbit Downy Mildew on cucumbers in North Carolina and Fusarium wilt on watermelon in South Carolina.
Cucurbit Crop & Disease Management News | May 31, 2022
Cucurbit Downy Mildew epidemic updates May 2022 | ipmPIPE
The first report of Cucurbit Downy Mildew in 2022 from Georgia was reported on May 4. CDM has been confirmed on cucumber in Brooks County, GA.
