Abstract
Verticillium wilt caused by Verticillium dahliae is a serious disease for watermelon growers in Washington State. Grafting represents a possible alternative disease management strategy, but little is known about rootstock resistance to verticillium wilt or the performance of grafted watermelon in the different production regions of the state. In this study, verticillium wilt severity, yield, and fruit quality were evaluated at three contrasting field sites in Washington using verticillium wilt-susceptible ‘Sugar Baby’ (diploid) watermelon grafted onto four commercial rootstock cultivars (Marvel, Rampart, Tetsukabuto, and Titan); nongrafted ‘Sugar Baby’ was included as the control. Verticillium dahliae soil densities varied at each site (<1.0, 5.7, and 18.0 colony-forming units (cfu)/g soil at Othello, Eltopia, and Mount Vernon, respectively). Area under disease progress curve (AUDPC) values differed significantly among treatments at Eltopia and Mount Vernon. Nongrafted ‘Sugar Baby’ had the highest AUDPC value at all three sites, while ‘Sugar Baby’ grafted onto ‘Tetsukabuto’ had the lowest AUDPC value at Eltopia and Mount Vernon. Nongrafted ‘Sugar Baby’ also had the lowest fruit weight per plant at all sites, but ‘Sugar Baby’ grafted onto ‘Tetsukabuto’ had the highest fruit weight per plant at Eltopia and Mount Vernon. Marketable fruit weight per plant did not differ among treatments at Othello. Yield was negatively correlated with AUDPC values at both Eltopia and Mount Vernon. Fruit number per plant was only significantly impacted at Eltopia, where ‘Sugar Baby’ grafted onto ‘Tetsukabuto’ had more fruit per plant than all other treatments except ‘Sugar Baby’ grafted onto ‘Rampart’. Fruit quality (flesh firmness, total soluble solids, and lycopene content) was unaffected by grafting at either Othello or Eltopia, except for increased flesh firmness for ‘Sugar Baby’ grafted onto ‘Marvel’ and ‘Titan’ as compared with nongrafted ‘Sugar Baby’ at Eltopia. At season’s end, plants were sampled from all treatments at Eltopia and Mount Vernon and assayed for V. dahliae . Microsclerotia typical of this organism were observed in all samples. Results from this study indicate that verticillium wilt of watermelon can be successfully managed by grafting when the V. dahliae soil density exceeds 5.0 cfu/g in Washington. In addition, grafting does not reduce fruit quality and using certain rootstocks can improve the quality of flesh firmness at certain locations.
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Claims 13
Claim · model-written summary
V. dahliae soil density differed across the three sites.
- Taxon
- Verticillium dahliae
Verticillium dahliaee0 - Outcome
- soil densitiese0
- Setting
- Othello, Eltopia, and Mount Vernone0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Verticillium dahliae soil densities varied at each site (<1.0, 5.7, and 18.0 colony-forming units (cfu)/g soil at Othello, Eltopia, and Mount Vernon, respectively)”
Claim · model-written summary
AUDPC differed significantly among treatments at Eltopia and Mount Vernon.
- Taxon
- Watermelon
Citrullus lanatust0 - Outcome
- Area under disease progress curve (AUDPC) valuese0
- Setting
- Eltopia and Mount Vernone0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Area under disease progress curve (AUDPC) values differed significantly among treatments at Eltopia and Mount Vernon”
t0“Watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
Nongrafted Sugar Baby had the highest AUDPC at all three sites.
- Taxon
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Material
- ‘Sugar Baby’e0
- Outcome
- AUDPC valuee0
- Direction
- higheste0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Nongrafted ‘Sugar Baby’ had the highest AUDPC value at all three sites”
t0“Watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
Sugar Baby on Tetsukabuto had the lowest AUDPC at Eltopia and Mount Vernon.
- Taxon
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Treatment
- ‘Sugar Baby’ grafted onto ‘Tetsukabuto’e0
- Outcome
- AUDPC valuee0
- Direction
- loweste0
- Comparator
- nongrafted ‘Sugar Baby’e1
- Setting
- Eltopia and Mount Vernone0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“‘Sugar Baby’ grafted onto ‘Tetsukabuto’ had the lowest AUDPC value at Eltopia and Mount Vernon”
e1“nongrafted ‘Sugar Baby’ was included as the control”
t0“Watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
Nongrafted Sugar Baby had the lowest fruit weight per plant at all sites.
- Taxon
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Material
- ‘Sugar Baby’e0
- Outcome
- fruit weight per plante0
- Direction
- loweste0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Nongrafted ‘Sugar Baby’ also had the lowest fruit weight per plant at all sites”
t0“Watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
Sugar Baby on Tetsukabuto had the highest fruit weight per plant at Eltopia and Mount Vernon.
- Taxon
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Treatment
- ‘Sugar Baby’ grafted onto ‘Tetsukabuto’e0
- Outcome
- fruit weight per plante0
- Direction
- higheste0
- Comparator
- nongrafted ‘Sugar Baby’e1
- Setting
- Eltopia and Mount Vernone0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“‘Sugar Baby’ grafted onto ‘Tetsukabuto’ had the highest fruit weight per plant at Eltopia and Mount Vernon”
e1“nongrafted ‘Sugar Baby’ was included as the control”
t0“Watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
Marketable fruit weight per plant did not differ among treatments at Othello.
- Taxon
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Outcome
- Marketable fruit weight per plante0
- Direction
- did not differe0
- Setting
- Othelloe0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Marketable fruit weight per plant did not differ among treatments at Othello”
t0“Watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
Yield was negatively correlated with AUDPC at Eltopia and Mount Vernon.
- Taxon
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Outcome
- Yielde0
- Direction
- negatively correlatede0
- Comparator
- AUDPC valuese0
- Setting
- Eltopia and Mount Vernone0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Yield was negatively correlated with AUDPC values at both Eltopia and Mount Vernon”
t0“Watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
Fruit number was significantly affected only at Eltopia, where Tetsukabuto exceeded most treatments.
- Taxon
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Treatment
- ‘Sugar Baby’ grafted onto ‘Tetsukabuto’e0
- Outcome
- Fruit number per plante0
- Direction
- moree0
- Comparator
- all other treatments except ‘Sugar Baby’ grafted onto ‘Rampart’e0
- Setting
- Eltopiae0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Fruit number per plant was only significantly impacted at Eltopia, where ‘Sugar Baby’ grafted onto ‘Tetsukabuto’ had more fruit per plant than all other treatments except ‘Sugar Baby’ grafted onto ‘Rampart’”
t0“Watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
Grafting did not affect flesh firmness, soluble solids or lycopene at Othello or Eltopia, apart from a firmness exception.
- Taxon
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Treatment
- graftinge0
- Outcome
- flesh firmness, total soluble solids, and lycopene contente0
- Direction
- unaffectede0
- Comparator
- nongrafted ‘Sugar Baby’e1
- Setting
- Othello or Eltopiae0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Fruit quality (flesh firmness, total soluble solids, and lycopene content) was unaffected by grafting at either Othello or Eltopia, except for increased flesh firmness”
e1“nongrafted ‘Sugar Baby’ was included as the control”
t0“Watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
Marvel and Titan grafts increased flesh firmness over nongrafted Sugar Baby at Eltopia.
- Taxon
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Treatment
- ‘Sugar Baby’ grafted onto ‘Marvel’ and ‘Titan’e0
- Outcome
- flesh firmnesse0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Comparator
- nongrafted ‘Sugar Baby’e0
- Setting
- Eltopiae0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“increased flesh firmness for ‘Sugar Baby’ grafted onto ‘Marvel’ and ‘Titan’ as compared with nongrafted ‘Sugar Baby’ at Eltopia”
t0“Watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
V. dahliae microsclerotia were observed in all sampled plants.
- Taxon
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Interactor
- V. dahliaeVerticillium dahliaee1pathogen
- Outcome
- Microsclerotiae0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Microsclerotia typical of this organism were observed in all samples”
e1“assayed for V. dahliae”
t0“Watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors conclude grafting can manage wilt when V. dahliae soil density exceeds 5.0 cfu/g.
- Taxon
- watermelonCitrullus lanatuse0
- Interactor
- V. dahliaeVerticillium dahliaee0pathogen
- Outcome
- managed by graftinge0
- Qualifier
- exceeds 5.0 cfu/ge0
- Setting
- Washingtone0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“verticillium wilt of watermelon can be successfully managed by grafting when the V. dahliae soil density exceeds 5.0 cfu/g in Washington”
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