Resistance of 25 Melon Cultigens to Race 1 and Race 2 of Fusarium Wilt under Two Soil Fumigation Treatments

Abstract

Twenty-five melon (Cucumis melo L.) cultigens were screened for resistance to fusarium wilt in a field infested with race 1 and race 2 of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. melonis in 1993 and 1994. Plants were grown on clear plastic mulch using commercial production recommendations. The soil was fumigated with methyl isothiocyanate at a broadcast rate of 340 liters·ha–1 in 1993, and with dichloropropene at a broadcast rate of 136 liters·ha–1 in 1994. Resistance was determined by the percentage of plants surviving 8 weeks after transplanting. In general, highly resistant cultigens (>90% survival) and highly susceptible cultigens (<20% survival) performed consistently in the two experiments. However, differences in performance between the two years were noted for cultigens with intermediate resistance, and their performance may have contributed to the significant cultigen × year interaction in this study.