Influence of verticillium and fusarium wilts on the growth of melon |
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| Authors: | F A Bletsos C C Thanassoulopoulos |
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| Institution: | National Agricultural Research Foundation (NAGREF), Agricultural Research Centre of Macedonia and Thrace, PO Box 312, 570 01 Thermi-Thessaloniki (Greece);e-mail:;Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Faculty of Agriculture, Plant Pathology Laboratory, 540 06 Thessaloniki (Greece) |
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| Abstract: | The susceptibility of the Greek melon cvs Kokkini Banana, Thraki, Peplos and Amynteou to Verticillium dahliae and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. melonis was tested, by inoculating seedlings of the four cultivars by root immersion in a Verticillium and Fusarium inoculum suspension for 1 h. After 35 days, disease incidence was estimated from a disease index calculated as the product of the'leaf symptom index'and'vascular discoloration index'of each plant. In addition, plant height, main stem diameter, above-ground fresh and dry weight and root fresh and dry weight were measured. The disease severity of verticillium and fusarium wilts on plants was estimated by the correlation coefficient ( r ) between the disease index and the other characteristics. Both fungi had a significant negative effect on all the measured characteristics independently of the tested cultivar. Finally, the four melon cultivars showed different degrees of susceptibility to Verticillium and Fusarium indicating that tolerant selections can be achieved. |
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