Fruit Yield, Disease Incidence, and Root Colonization of Hybrid Muskmelons Resistant to Fusarium Wilt

Eight F 1 hybrid muskmelons, bred for resistance to race 2 of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. melonis, and an open-pollinated cultivar susceptible to Fusarium wilt were grown in 1987 in a commercial muskmelon field naturally infested with F. o. f. sp. melonis race 2 and in a field where the pathogen was absent. In 1988, nine disease-resistant hybrids and a susceptible cultivar were evaluated in trials at both locations. In both years, a high incidence of Fusarium wilt was observed on the susceptible cultivar in the infested field. Either no disease or very low levels were recorded for the wilt-resistant entries grown in the naturally infested soil (...)