Articles
THE PHYSIOLOGICAL SUDDEN COLLAPSE OF GRAFTED MELON AS A RESULT OF A NOT APPROPRIATE GROWING PROCEDURE
Article number
883_28
Pages
229 – 234
Language
English
Abstract
Melon (Cucumis melo) production is a significant component of the vegetable industry in Italy.
Methyl bromide has been the widest used pre-plant soil fumigant for controlling soilborne diseases of crops such as melons.
Grafting melons onto vigorous, disease-resistant rootstocks is an alternative to soil fumigation providing resistance/tolerance against soilborne diseases and tolerance to heat/cold/saline stress.
In Italy melons are usually grafted onto Cucurbita spp. (Shintosa, RS841) as well as Cucumis melo (Dinero) rootstocks depending from the season, the growing area and the disease pressure.
Earliest melon productions (late March – beginning April) are obtained in Sicily (Southeast coast). Since 2006 sudden and heavy melon collapses were observed, particularly in Agrigento costal area.
Several samples were yearly brought to the laboratory in order to identify possible biotic causal agents.
Strains of Fusarium spp., Rhizoctonia spp., and Pythium spp. were repeatedly isolated but none of them was able to reproduce the symptoms observed in the field.
At the beginning of 2008 a field survey was organized and aimed at clarifying the common growing procedure adopted in the area where the collapses were more severe.
Moreover the same year three experimental tests were organized in order to clarify the relationships between the growing procedure commonly adopted and the melon collapses.
Data did not show any correlation between the grafting procedures and the collapse incidence, while consistent correlation was observed both between the scion/rootstock combination, the use of exogenous auxins basically adopted to increase the yield both in quality and quantity and the collapse incidence. Fiola grafted onto the rootstock Shintosa was the most sensitive scion/rootstock combination and the collapse was particularly severe when the use of the mixture of naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), 2-naphthyloxy-acetic acid (BNOA) and 2-(1-naphtyl)acetamide (NAD) was applied both by foliar spray and drip irrigation, particularly under hot climate conditions.
The data are in accordance with other studies carried out in Israel and this paper describes the growing procedures, which can enhance the collapse of grafted melons under commercial field conditions.
Methyl bromide has been the widest used pre-plant soil fumigant for controlling soilborne diseases of crops such as melons.
Grafting melons onto vigorous, disease-resistant rootstocks is an alternative to soil fumigation providing resistance/tolerance against soilborne diseases and tolerance to heat/cold/saline stress.
In Italy melons are usually grafted onto Cucurbita spp. (Shintosa, RS841) as well as Cucumis melo (Dinero) rootstocks depending from the season, the growing area and the disease pressure.
Earliest melon productions (late March – beginning April) are obtained in Sicily (Southeast coast). Since 2006 sudden and heavy melon collapses were observed, particularly in Agrigento costal area.
Several samples were yearly brought to the laboratory in order to identify possible biotic causal agents.
Strains of Fusarium spp., Rhizoctonia spp., and Pythium spp. were repeatedly isolated but none of them was able to reproduce the symptoms observed in the field.
At the beginning of 2008 a field survey was organized and aimed at clarifying the common growing procedure adopted in the area where the collapses were more severe.
Moreover the same year three experimental tests were organized in order to clarify the relationships between the growing procedure commonly adopted and the melon collapses.
Data did not show any correlation between the grafting procedures and the collapse incidence, while consistent correlation was observed both between the scion/rootstock combination, the use of exogenous auxins basically adopted to increase the yield both in quality and quantity and the collapse incidence. Fiola grafted onto the rootstock Shintosa was the most sensitive scion/rootstock combination and the collapse was particularly severe when the use of the mixture of naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), 2-naphthyloxy-acetic acid (BNOA) and 2-(1-naphtyl)acetamide (NAD) was applied both by foliar spray and drip irrigation, particularly under hot climate conditions.
The data are in accordance with other studies carried out in Israel and this paper describes the growing procedures, which can enhance the collapse of grafted melons under commercial field conditions.
Publication
Authors
A. Minuto, C. Bruzzone, G. Minuto, G. Causarano, G. La Lota, S. Longombardo
Keywords
Cucumis melo, rootstocks, Cucurbita, incompatibility, NAA, BNOA, NAD
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