%0 Journal Article
%T Effect of Various Soil Media on Disease Severity of <i>Fusarium</i> Wilt in Watermelon
%A Geoffrey Meru
%A Cecilia McGregor
%J American Journal of Plant Sciences
%P 1890-1898
%@ 2158-2750
%D 2020
%I Scientific Research Publishing
%R 10.4236/ajps.2020.1112135
%X Fusarium wilt is a major disease of watermelon (<i><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">Citrullus</span></i> <i><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">lanatus</span></i><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">) caused by </span><i><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">Fusarium</span></i> <i><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">oxysporum</span></i><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\"> f. sp. </span><i><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">niveum</span></i><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\"> (</span><i><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">Fon</span></i><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">). Use of host resistance is the most </span><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">effective management strategy for the disease, and a major objective for
breeding programs. Screening assays rely on the ability to discriminate
resistant and susceptible genotypes in segregating populations. However, complex</span> <span><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">interactions between </span><i><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">Fon</span></i><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\"> and the soil
environment can influence symptom development and disease severity rating. In
the current study, severity of Fusarium wilt (race 1) in sand-peat (1:1 v/v),
sand-perlite (1:1), sand-peat-vermiculite (4:1:1), </span></span><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">peat-perlite (1:1)
and Fafard 3B potting media was compared among five watermelon cultivars:
Calhoun Gray (resistant), </span><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">SunSugar
(resistant), Allsweet (moderately resistant), Sugar Baby (susceptible) and
Charleston Gray (susceptible). Plant biomass (average dry weight/plant) was
lowest in peat-perlite (1.67</span><span style=\"font-family:;\" \"=\"\"> </span><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">g) </span><span style=\"font-family:;\" \"=\"\"><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">and
sand-peat (2.16 g), and was significantly different (</span><i><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">¦Á</span></i><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\"> = 0.05) from that of sand-perlite (3.48 g), sand-peat-vermiculite
(4.94 g) and Fafard 3B (6.90 g). Conversely, disease severity [area under disease
progress curve (AUDPC)] across cultivars was significantly higher in
peat-perlite (AUDPC = 62.96) and sand-peat (AUDPC = 40.87), than in
sand-perlite (AUDPC = 11.55), sand-peat-vermiculite (AUDPC = 10.67) and Fafard
3B (AUDPC = 9.29). Consistent discrimination (</span><i><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">¦Á</span></i><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\"> = 0.05) of resistant and susceptible cultivars was realized
%K Breeding
%K &lt
%K i&gt
%K Citrullus lanatus&lt
%K /i&gt
%K Pathogen
%K &lt
%K i&gt
%K Fusarium oxysporum&lt
%K /i&gt
%K Race 1
%K Soil-Type
%K AUDPC
%U http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=105688