A New Race of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. melonis Causing Fusarium Wilt of Muskmelon in the Central Valley of California.

Abstract

In 1996, cantaloupe (Cucumis melo L. cv. Durango) vines in two fields exhibited wilt, vascular discoloration, and necrotic streaks on the stems. Fusarium oxysporum Schlechtend.:Fr. was isolated from the stems of vines from both fields. One isolate from each field was compared with known isolates of F. oxysporum f. sp. melonis (Leach & Currence) W.C. Snyder & H.N. Hansen races 1 and 2 in a differential host range experiment in the greenhouse. Three-week-old seedlings were root-dip inoculated with monoconidial isolates at a concentration of 5 × 105 spores per ml. Control plants were dipped in water. In two experiments, the test isolates killed the susceptible varieties Top Mark and Magnum .45 and the race 2 resistant varieties Durango, Gold Mine, and Perlita FR. Seedlings of variety Charentais with the Fom2 gene conferring resistance to race 1 were resistant to both test isolates. It was determined that both of these isolates are associated with vegetative compatibility group (VCG) 0134 (1). This is the first report of race 1 and VCG 0134 of F. oxysporum f. sp. melonis causing Fusarium wilt of muskmelon in the Central Valley of California, and the first reported occurrence of race 1 in California since 1973 (2). Cantaloupe varieties currently grown in California are susceptible to race 1 of F. oxysporum f. sp. melonis