Phytophthora fruit rot is a major disease impacting pickling cucumber production for which there are no resistant varieties. Genomic approaches were performed on the cucumber core collection leading to identification and verification of several quantitative trait loci associated with resistance. The results from this work can be applied to future disease resistance studies and to assist marker-assisted selection in breeding programs.
CucCAP Project Updates
Contributions to the CucCAP project by the Bioinformatics Team, Cucurbit Crop Breeding Teams, and the Integrated Disease Management Team.
UF/IFAS plant breeders to release squash cultivars
Geoffrey Meru at UF IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center in Florida and his team have been researching Calabaza’s qualities as a sustainable crop to grow commercially in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Puerto Rico.
Cucurbit Genetics Cooperative | call for papers
CucCAP leader receives award
Grumet’s lab most recently focused on fruit development and disease resistance in cucumber and melon crops using molecular genetic, genomic and transgenic approaches. This centered on early stages of fruit growth and factors influencing fruit size, shape, cuticle and surface properties and resistance to Phytophthora capsici.
CucCAP Project objectives and updates | 2020 – 2024
Management Strategies of Phytophthora Blight in Cucurbits
The USDA has identified vegetable crops as challenged specialty crops. Cucurbits are important cash crops in the United States. The profitable and sustainable production of cucurbits is severely impacted by the destructive soilborne disease, Phytophthora blight.
CucCAP scientists uncover genetic factors influencing flowering time and fruit yield in watermelon
Scientists at the USDA, ARS, U.S. Vegetable Laboratory in Charleston, SC evaluated the USDA, ARS citron watermelon germplasm collection for flowering time and fruit yield traits under field conditions over two years. They used a “genome-wide association study (GWAS)” to detect genomic regions and molecular (DNA) markers associated with flowering time and fruit yield traits. The new molecular markers will be useful in improving watermelon varieties for early flowering and maturity and yield performance via marker-assisted breeding.
Cucumber Disease Survey 2023
CucCAP Agricultural and Resource Economics Extension Specialist Dr. Daniel Tregeagle invites commercial cucumber growers to participate in this 30 minute survey.
