Abstract
Watermelon, Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai, crops are continuously exposed to soilborne diseases. In many areas of the United States, greenhouse-raised watermelon seedlings are transplanted to the field to allow for early crop establishment and early fruit production. This practice can result in weakened root systems, which potentially make the plant prone to premature senescence and reduce crop productivity. Mycorrhizal fungi have been reported to improve plant growth in many crops through enhanced root growth and function. We hypothesized that amending potting mixes with commercial inocula of mycorrhizal fungi during seeding of watermelon in a greenhouse would improve watermelon production when seedlings were transplanted to the field. Colonization of watermelon roots with mycorrhizal fungi from three commercial formulations was compared with the colonization of onion roots to confirm the efficacy of the mycorrhizae. Two inocula of mycorrhizal fungi that resulted in colonization of watermelon roots were tested in the field and glasshouse for their potential to improve watermelon production. MycoApply improved early plant growth in two tests, one under Meloidogyne incognita -infested conditions in loamy sand and another at two phosphorus fertilizer levels (0 or 22 kg·ha −1 P) in a loam soil. Mycor Vam Mini plug improved early fruit yield in soil infested with M. incognita . Application of Myconate (formononetin), a potential enhancer of colonization with mycorrhizae, increased early fruit yield in M. incognita -infested soil. Myconate had positive effects when potting mixes were not amended with inoculum of mycorrhizal fungi, but reduced watermelon growth when mycorrhizal fungi were supplied in the potting mix. In glasshouse tests, inoculation with mycorrhizal fungi did not suppress disease. Mycorrhizal fungi inoculations improved early plant establishment and increased the most valuable early fruit yield under some environmental stress conditions but did not increase total fruit yields.
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Claims 11
Claim · model-written summary
Three commercial formulations colonized watermelon roots.
- Taxon
- watermelon
Citrullus lanatuse0 - Interactor
- mycorrhizal fungie0symbiont
- Outcome
- Colonization of watermelon rootse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Colonization of watermelon roots with mycorrhizal fungi from three commercial formulations”
Claim · model-written summary
MycoApply improved early watermelon growth under Meloidogyne incognita infestation in loamy sand.
- Taxon
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatuse0
- Treatment
- MycoApplye1
- Interactor
- Meloidogyne incognita
_penetrates_a_tomato_root_-_USDA-ARS.jpg?width=60)
Meloidogyne incognitae1pest - Outcome
- early plant growthe1
- Direction
- improvede1
- Setting
- loamy sande1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
_penetrates_a_tomato_root_-_USDA-ARS.jpg?width=500)
Verbatim
e0“Watermelon, Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai”
e1“MycoApply improved early plant growth in two tests, one under Meloidogyne incognita -infested conditions in loamy sand”
Claim · model-written summary
MycoApply improved early watermelon growth at two phosphorus fertilizer levels in loam soil.
- Taxon
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatuse0
- Treatment
- MycoApplye1
- Outcome
- early plant growthe1
- Direction
- improvede1
- Qualifier
- two phosphorus fertilizer levels (0 or 22 kg·ha −1 P)e1
- Setting
- loam soile1
Not reportedInteractorComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Watermelon, Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai”
e1“MycoApply improved early plant growth in two tests, one under Meloidogyne incognita -infested conditions in loamy sand and another at two phosphorus fertilizer levels (0 or 22 kg·ha −1 P) in a loam soil”
Claim · model-written summary
Mycor Vam Mini plug improved early watermelon fruit yield in soil infested with M. incognita.
- Taxon
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatuse0
- Treatment
- Mycor Vam Mini pluge1
- Interactor
- M. incognitaMeloidogyne incognitae1pest
- Outcome
- early fruit yielde1
- Direction
- improvede1
- Setting
- soil infested with M. incognitae1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Watermelon, Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai”
e1“Mycor Vam Mini plug improved early fruit yield in soil infested with M. incognita”
Claim · model-written summary
Myconate increased early watermelon fruit yield in M. incognita infested soil.
- Taxon
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatuse0
- Treatment
- Myconate (formononetin)e1
- Interactor
- M. incognitaMeloidogyne incognitae1pest
- Outcome
- early fruit yielde1
- Direction
- increasede1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Watermelon, Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai”
e1“Application of Myconate (formononetin), a potential enhancer of colonization with mycorrhizae, increased early fruit yield in M. incognita -infested soil”
Claim · model-written summary
Myconate had positive effects on watermelon without mycorrhizal inoculum in the potting mix.
- Taxon
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatuse0
- Treatment
- Myconatee1
- Outcome
- positive effectse1
- Direction
- positivee1
- Qualifier
- potting mixes were not amended with inoculum of mycorrhizal fungie1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Watermelon, Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai”
e1“Myconate had positive effects when potting mixes were not amended with inoculum of mycorrhizal fungi”
Claim · model-written summary
Myconate reduced watermelon growth when mycorrhizal fungi were in the potting mix.
- Taxon
- watermelonCitrullus lanatuse1
- Treatment
- Myconatee1
- Interactor
- mycorrhizal fungie1symbiont
- Outcome
- watermelon growthe1
- Direction
- reducede1
- Qualifier
- mycorrhizal fungi were supplied in the potting mixe1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Watermelon, Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai”
e1“Myconate had positive effects when potting mixes were not amended with inoculum of mycorrhizal fungi, but reduced watermelon growth when mycorrhizal fungi were supplied in the potting mix”
Claim · model-written summary
Mycorrhizal inoculation did not suppress watermelon disease in glasshouse tests.
- Taxon
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatuse0
- Treatment
- inoculation with mycorrhizal fungie1
- Interactor
- mycorrhizal fungie1symbiont
- Outcome
- diseasee1
- Direction
- did not suppresse1
- Setting
- glasshousee1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Watermelon, Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai”
e1“In glasshouse tests, inoculation with mycorrhizal fungi did not suppress disease”
Claim · model-written summary
Mycorrhizal inoculation improved early watermelon plant establishment under some environmental stress conditions.
- Taxon
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatuse0
- Treatment
- Mycorrhizal fungi inoculationse1
- Interactor
- Mycorrhizal fungie1symbiont
- Outcome
- early plant establishmente1
- Direction
- improvede1
- Qualifier
- under some environmental stress conditionse1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Watermelon, Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai”
e1“Mycorrhizal fungi inoculations improved early plant establishment and increased the most valuable early fruit yield under some environmental stress conditions but did not increase total fruit yields”
Claim · model-written summary
Mycorrhizal inoculation increased early watermelon fruit yield under some environmental stress conditions.
- Taxon
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatuse0
- Treatment
- Mycorrhizal fungi inoculationse1
- Interactor
- Mycorrhizal fungie1symbiont
- Outcome
- early fruit yielde1
- Direction
- increasede1
- Qualifier
- under some environmental stress conditionse1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Watermelon, Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai”
e1“Mycorrhizal fungi inoculations improved early plant establishment and increased the most valuable early fruit yield under some environmental stress conditions”
Claim · model-written summary
Mycorrhizal inoculation did not increase total watermelon fruit yield.
- Taxon
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatuse0
- Treatment
- Mycorrhizal fungi inoculationse1
- Interactor
- Mycorrhizal fungie1symbiont
- Outcome
- total fruit yieldse1
- Direction
- did not increasee1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Watermelon, Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai”
e1“Mycorrhizal fungi inoculations improved early plant establishment and increased the most valuable early fruit yield under some environmental stress conditions but did not increase total fruit yields”
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