Viruses are the most common causes of diseases affecting cucurbits in New York. These diseases result in losses through reduction in growth and yield and are responsible for distortion and mottling of fruit , making the product unmarketable. A complex of viruses is able to infect cucurbits, a plant group that includes cucumber , melon , squash, pumpkins , and watermelon. The most important viru...

Acidovorax avenae subsp. citrulli, causal agent of bacterial fruit blotch, has caused considerable damage to the watermelon and melon industry in China and the United States. Understanding the emergence and spread of this pathogen is important for controlling the disease. To build a fingerprinting database for reliable identification and tracking of strains of A. avenae subsp. citrulli, a multi...

Watermelon plants grafted onto rootstocks from squash or gourds were planted at Lane, Oklahoma. Weight, dimensions, and quality (SSC, firmness, lycopene content) of a seeded (Summer Flavor® 800) and a seedless (Summer Sweet® 5244) cultivar were measured. Watermelons from non-grafted plants weighed more than those from grafted plants. Fruit shape, determined by length, circumference, and their r...

Cucurbitacins are feeding stimulants for corn rootworm used in baits to control the adults of this insect pest. Corn rootworm larvae also feed compulsively on cucurbitacins. Cucurbitacins are reported to be gibberellin antagonists that may preclude their use as seed treatments for these soil-dwelling insects. The crude extract of a bitter Hawkesbury watermelon containing cucurbitacin E-glycosid...

Introduction Icebox watermelons weigh between 6 and 15 pounds (2.7 6.8 kilograms) and are growing in popularity in the United States. Sugar Baby was the first icebox watermelon variety in the United States, and was discovered in a field of picnic watermelon in Oklahoma by M. Harden in 1955 (Wehner and Barrett, 1996). It was not until 1986 that the next icebox watermelon varieties were released ...

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is a globally important crop belonging to the family Cucurbitaceae. The grafting technique is commonly used to improve its tolerance to stress, as well as to enhance its nutrient uptake and utilization. It is believed that miRNA is most likely involved in its nutrient-starvation response as a graft-transportable signal. The quantitative real-time reverse transcrip...

With the rapid growing of nanotechnology, the effects of nanomaterials released into the environment on plants have drawn more and more attention. Iron is an element essential for plant growth and development. Iron is involved in chlorophyll formation; iron deficiency will cause a plant disorder known as chlorosis. However, whether iron in nano-ferric oxide can be absorbed by plants were rarely...

Some physical properties of pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) and watermelon (Citrullus lanatus L.) seeds were determined at a moisture content of 9.87% and 2.87% (dry basis), respectively. The mean values of length, width, thickness and geometric mean diameter were 19.92, 11.30, 3.22, 9.71 mm for pumpkin seeds, and 13.28, 8.00, 2.64, 6.52 mm for watermelon seeds, respectively. The mean 1000 seed mas...

As part of our ongoing efforts to sequence and map the watermelon (Citrullus spp.) genome, we have constructed a high density genetic linkage map. The map positioned 234 watermelon genome sequence scaffolds (an average size of 1.41 Mb) that cover about 330 Mb and account for 93.5% of the 353 Mb of the assembled genomic sequences of the elite Chinese watermelon line 97103 (Citrullus lanatus var....

Grafting watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) to control Fusarium wilt has been practiced in Europe, the Middle East, and the Far East for decades. Until recently, grafting watermelon has not been practiced in the United States due to labor costs and land availability. There is some disagreement in the literature as to the effects that grafting has on watermelon fruit quality. This study was designed...