Using Cucurbita Rootstocks to Reduce Fusarium Wilt Incidence and Increase Fruit Yield and Carotenoid Content in Oriental Melons

Abstract

Oriental melon (Cucumis melo var. makuwa Makino) is a fruit with distinctive characteristics that is grown in Fuzhou, China. Fusarium wilt disease management remains a major challenge in the production of this fruit. Here, we performed seven field trials at four locations in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China, to evaluate the control of fusarium wilt and yield of Oriental melons grafted on two Cucurbita rootstocks [Shengyan Tianzhen (SYTZ) and Nanzhen No. 1 (NZ1)]. During the growing seasons of 2008 to 2011, Oriental melons grafted on SYTZ and NZ1 exhibited dramatically reduced incidences of fusarium wilt disease and increased yields compared with nongrafted Oriental melons. Disease was only recorded in Trial 3 at Hongwei (2009), where plants grafted on SYTZ and NZ1 exhibited 1.05% and 1.1% infection, respectively. In the other six field trials, wilting was not observed at all. In comparison, the incidence of the disease in nongrafted Oriental melons ranged from 45.0% to 100.0%. The use of Cucurbita rootstocks improved the qualitative and quantitative carotenoid profiles, increasing lutein levels (12.7 and 10.8 μg·g−1 of fresh weight, respectively) and ζ-carotene and phytofluene amounts in fruit samples from SYTZ- and NZ1-grafted plants. In particular, the Liyu/NZ1 combination significantly increased β-carotene content ≈4-fold compared with nongrafted samples. In conclusion, Cucurbita rootstocks provided acceptable protection of Oriental melon cv. Liyu against fusarium wilt and improved the productivity and quality of fruits.