Abstract
The fungi Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi), Monosporascus cannonballus (Pollack and Uecker) and Rhizoctonia solani (Kuhn) are responsible for significant destruction and melon crop losses in the Sistan region of Iran. In this study, eighteen melon cultivars were screened for resistance to these pathogens under greenhouse conditions. The melon cultivars were grown in pots and inoculated with each pathogen individually in three different experiments. None of the tested melon cultivars was immune to all the soil-borne plant pathogenic fungi. However, two cultivars, namely ‘Sfidak khatdar’ and ‘Sfidak bekhat’ were moderately resistant to all the three fungi. A second screening was performed for resistance to these pathogens under greenhouse conditions. In the second screening, ‘Sfidak khatdar’ and ‘Sfidak bekhat’ were moderately resistant to all the three fungi. These melon cultivars are promising sources of resistance to M. phaseolina, M. cannonballus and R. solani, and should be the preferred choice for melon grown in infested areas. This study is the first report on screening of melon cultivars in Iran for resistance to M. phaseolina, M. cannonballus and R. solani and it reports the resistance of melon cultivars to three important soil-borne plant pathogens found worldwide.
Highlights
Melon is an important dessert fruit in the Sistan region of Iran, but its cultivation is threatened by attacks of Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi), Monosporascus cannonballus (Pollack and Uecker) and Rhizoctonia solani (Kuhn) [1]
We identified sources of resistance to M. phaseolina, M. cannonballus and R. solani isolated from the Sistan region of Iran among a collection of Iranian melon cultivars
In 2010, eighteen melon cultivars, including ‘Gandah’, ‘Sfidak khatda’, ‘Sfidak bekhat’, ‘Mollamosi’, ‘Nabijani’, ‘Shadegan’, ‘Zard evanaki’, ‘Moshi’, ‘Sooski’, ‘Jajrood’, ‘Hajmolashahi’ and ‘Khaghani’ were obtained from the growers and were collected from several regions of Iran to determine their resistance to M. phaseolina, M. cannonballus and R. solani
Summary
Melon is an important dessert fruit in the Sistan region of Iran, but its cultivation is threatened by attacks of Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi), Monosporascus cannonballus (Pollack and Uecker) and Rhizoctonia solani (Kuhn) [1]. Melon death induced by these soilborne plant pathogenic fungi has become increasingly severe in many intensively cultivated fields in the Sistan region. M. phaseolina is a destructive pathogen that causes charcoal rot of melon and other dicotyledonous crops. Chemical management is not feasible in subsistence farming conditions, and the plurivorous nature of the fungus limits the effectiveness of some cultural methods of control. Identification of melon cultivars that are resistant or tolerant to M. phaseolina is the most efficient control measure, but no attempt has been made to find out resistance to M. phaseolina in melon. Tolerant or resistant melon cultivars are yet to be known
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