• The Plant Pathology Journal
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.87-92
• /
• 2013

This study was conducted to determine the Phytophthora rot resistance of 514 accessions of watermelon germplasm, Citrullus lanatus var lanatus. About 46% of the 514 accessions tested were collections from Uzbekistan, Turkey, China, U.S.A., and Ukraine. Phytophthora capsici was inoculated to 45-day-old watermelon seedlings by drenching with 5 ml of sporangial suspension ($10^6$ sporangia/ml). At 7 days after inoculation, 21 accessions showed no disease symptoms while 291 accessions of susceptible watermelon germplasm showed more than 60.1% disease severity. A total of 510 accessions of watermelon germplasm showed significant disease symptoms and were rated as susceptible to highly susceptible 35 days after inoculation. The highly susceptible watermelon germplasm exhibited white fungal hyphae on the lesion or damping off with water-soaked and browning symptoms. One accession (IT032840) showed moderate resistance and two accessions (IT185446 and IT187904) were resistant to P. capsici. Results suggest that these two resistant germplasm can be used as a rootstock and as a source of resistance in breeding resistant watermelon varieties against Phytophthora.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
• /
• v.33 no.6
• /
• pp.869-876
• /
• 2015

Wild relative species of domesticated crops are useful genetic resources for improving agronomic traits. Cytogenetic investigations based on chromosome composition provide insight into basic genetic and genomic characteristics of a species that can be exploited in a breeding program. Here, we used FISH analysis to characterize the ploidy level, chromosome constitution, and genomic distribution o f 5S and 4 5S r ibosomal DNA (rDNA) in four wild Cucurbitaceae species, namely, Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Mansf. var. citroides L. H. Bailey (2n = 22), Melothria japonica Maxim. (2n = 22), Sicyos angulatus L. (2n = 24), and Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim. (2n = 66, 88, 110 cytotypes), collected in different areas of Korea. All species were diploids, except for T. kirilowii, which included hexa-, octa-, and decaploid cytotypes (2n = 6x = 66, 8x = 88, and 10x = 110). All species have small metaphase chromosomes in the range of $2-5{\mu}m$. The 45S rDNA signals were localized distally compared to the 5S rDNA. C. lanatus var. citroides and M. japonica showed one and two loci of 45S and 5S rDNA, respectively, with co-localization of rDNA signals in one M. japonica chromosome. S. angulatus showed two co-localized signals of 5S and 45S rDNA loci. The hexaploid T. kirilowii cytotype showed five signals each for 45S and 5S rDNA, with three being co-localized. This is the first report of hexaploid and decaploid cytotypes in T. kirilowii. These results will be useful in future Cucurbitaceae breeding programs.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
• /
• v.33 no.1
• /
• pp.93-105
• /
• 2015

This study was performed to analyze genetic relationships of the four major cucurbitaceous crops including watermelon, melon, cucumber, and squash/pumpkin. Among 120 EST-SSR primer sets selected from the International Cucurbit Genomics Initiative (ICuGI) database, PCR was successful for 51 (49.17%) primer sets and 49 (40.8%) primer sets showed polymorphisms among eight Cucurbitaceae accessions. A total of 382 allele-specific PCR bands were produced by 49 EST-SSR primers from 24 Cucurbitaceae accessions and used for analysis of pairwise similarity and dendrogram construction. Assessment of the genetic relationships resulted in similarity indexes ranging from 0.01 to 0.85. In the dendrogram, 24 Cucurbitaceae accessions were classified into two major groups (Clade I and II) and 8 subgroups. Clade I comprised two subgroups, Clade I-1 for watermelon accessions [I-1a and I-1b-2: three wild-type watermelons (Citrullus lanatus var. citroides Mats. & Nakai), I-1b-1: six watermelon cultivars (Citrullus lanatus var. vulgaris S chrad.)] a nd C lade I -2 for melon and cucumber accessions [I-2a-1 : 4 melon cultivars(Cucumis melo var. cantalupensis Naudin.), I-2a-2: oriental melon cultivars (Cucumis melo var. conomon Makino.), and I-2b: five cucumber cultivars (Cucumis sativus L.)]. Squash and pumpkin accessions composed Clade II {II-1: two squash/ pumpkin cultivars [Cucurbita moschata (Duch. ex Lam.)/Duch. & Poir. and Cucurbita maxima Duch.] and II-2: two squash/pumpkin cultivars, Cucurbita pepo L./Cucurbita ficifolia Bouche.}. These results were in accordance with previously reported classification of Cucurbitaceae species, indicating that watermelon EST-SSRs show a high level of marker transferability and should be useful for genetic study in other cucurbit crops.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
• /
• v.41 no.4
• /
• pp.309-314
• /
• 2014

A total of 67 watermelon accessions which include 37 accessions from Korean and 27 accessions from Turkish germplasm and 3 accessions of other related species from USA were investigated for morphological characteristics. The UPOV descriptor list for 56 characters (6 seedlings, 4 plants, 11 leaves, 5 flowers, 23 fruits and 7 seeds) was used in characterization. In addition, eight quantitative characters, hypocotyl length, cotyledon width, cotyledon length, fruit weight, fruit length, fruit width, thickness of outer layer of pericarp and soluble solid content were also measured. The 56 qualitatively scored characters were analyzed by principle coordinate analysis (PCoA) while the eight quantitative ones were subjected to principle component analysis (PCA). Morphological characterization result demonstrated that the accessions displayed high morphological diversity(how much percent?). A high level of phenotypic diversity was observed from the results of morphological characterization. However, plant growth habit and leaf blade flecking showed constant characters for all of the accessions. The Korean and Turkish watermelon genotypes are diverse groups and can be separated by both multivariate analysis of morphological characters although the grouping was more apparent in PCoS results.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
• /
• v.27 no.3 s.90
• /
• pp.198-205
• /
• 1999

Cucurbitaceous vegetable crops grown in greenhouses in Korea were surveyed from 1995 to 1997. Incidence of Sclerotinia rot was as high as $30{\sim}70%$ at its maximum on Cucumis melo var. reticulatus (netted melon), Cucumis sativus (cucumber), Cucurbita moschata (pumpkin) and Cucurbita pepo (summer squash) but relatively low on Citrullus lanatus (watermelon) and Cucumis melo var. makuwa (oriental melon). Symptoms of Sclerotinia rot developed on stems of all the cucurbits, fruits of five cucurbits except C. lanatus, petioles of two Cucurbita spp. and leaves of C. moschata. A total of 126 isolates of Sclerotinia sp. were obtained from the lesions and identified as Sclerotinia sclerotiorum based on the morphological and cultural characteristics. The fungus was very frequently isolated from stems and fruits of the cucurbits but rarely from petioles and leaves. Six isolates of the fungus were pathogenic to six cucurbits tested although there was some difference in virulence among the isolates to some of the hosts. C. lanatus was the most susceptible to the isolates, whereas C. melo var. makuwa was the most resistant. C. melo var. reticulatus and C. sativus were relatively susceptible to the isolates, and C. moschata and C. pepo relatively resistant.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.48 no.5
• /
• pp.456-463
• /
• 2015

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of granular type of silicate fertilizer on watermelon growth, yield, and characteristics of soil in the greenhouse. Four different levels of silicate fertilizer, 0(control), 600, 1,200, $1,800kg\;ha^{-1}$ were applied for experiment. The silicate fertilizer was applied as a basal fertilization before transplanting watermelon. Compost and basal fertilizers were applied based on the standard fertilizer recommendation rate with soil testing. All of the recommended $P_2O_5$ and 50% of N and $K_2O$ were applied as a basal fertilization. The N and $K_2O$ as additional fertilization was split-applied twice by fertigation method. Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus Thunb.) cultivar was 'Sam-Bok-KKuol and main stem was from rootstock (bottle gourd: Lagenaria leucantha Standl.) 'Bul-Ro-Jang-Sang'. The watermelon was transplanted on April, 15. Soil chemical properties, such as soil pH, EC, available phosphate and exchangeable K, Mg, and available $SiO_2$ levels increased compared to the control, while EC was similar and the concentrations of soil organic matter decreased. Physical properties of soils, such as soil bulk density and porosity were not different among treatments. The growth characteristics of watermelon, such as stem diameter, fresh and dry weight of watermelon at harvest were thicker and heavier for silicate treatment than the control, while number of node was shorter than the control. Merchantable watermelon increased by 3-5% compared to the control and sugar content was 0.4 to $0.7^{\circ}Brix$ higher than the control. These results suggest that silicate fertilizer application in the greenhouse can improve some chemical properties of soils and watermelon stem diameter and dry weight, which are contributed to watermelon quality and marketable watermelon production.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
• /
• v.35 no.1
• /
• pp.108-120
• /
• 2017

Modern watermelon cultivars (Citrullus lanatus [Thunb.] Matsum.& Nakai var. lanatus) have fruits with diverse phenotypes, including fruit shape, rind patterns, and flesh color. Molecular markers enable efficient selection of plants harboring desirable phenotypes. In the present study, publicly available DNA markers tightly linked to fruit shape, rind stripe pattern, and flesh color were evaluated using 85 watermelon accessions with diverse fruit phenotypes. For fruit shape, the dCAPS SUN - Cla011257 marker revealed an 81% of marker - trait match for accessions with elongated or round fruits. For rind stripe pattern, the SCAR wsb6-11marker was effective for selecting Jubilee-type rind pattern from other rind patterns. For flesh color, the Clcyb.600 and Lcyb markers derived from a mutation in the Lycopene ${\beta}$ - cyclase (Lcyb) gene, were effective at selecting red or yellow flesh. Forty-eight accessions possessing diverse fruit - related traits were selected as a reference array and their genetic relationships assessed using 16 SSR markers. At a coefficient of 0.11, the 48 accessions grouped into two major clades: Clade I and Clade II. Clade I subdivided further into subclades I - 1 and I - 2 at a coefficient of 0.39. All accessions with colored flesh were classified into Clade I, whereas those with white - flesh were classified into Clade II. Differences in fruit traits between subclades I - 1 and I - 2 were observed for rind pattern and fruit color; a majority of the accessions with Crimson-type striped or non-striped rind were grouped together in subclade I - 1, while most accessions in subclade I - 2 had a Jubilee - type rind stripe pattern. These results imply that reference array watermelon accessions possess distinguishable genetic structure based on rind stripe pattern. However, no significant grouping pattern was observed based on other fruit-related traits.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
• /
• v.42 no.2
• /
• pp.119-124
• /
• 2003

The adult of the Cotton caterpillar, Palpita indica (Saunder) laid eggs more on mature leaves than on aged and developing leaves. They laid more on leaves than on petiole and stem, and more on the adaxial than on the abaxial surface side of the leaves. Larvae of the Cotton caterpillar showed their preference in the order of the cucumber (Cucumis sativus), gourd (Lagernaria siceraria), watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) ＞ oriental melon (Cucumis melon L. var makuwa), wax gourd (Benincasa hispida), melon (Cucumis melo), star cucumber (Sicyos angulatus) ＞ sponge cucumber (Lufa cylindrica), cotton (Gossypium indicum). There were no distinct differences among varieties and lines that were collected and hybridized at the Gochang Watermelon Experiment Station in Korea. There was a positive relationship between the leaf area and the degree of damage by the Cotton caterpillar. The feeding amounts of the Cotton caterpillar excrement were gradually increased to 16-18 days after hatching, after that the amounts of excrement were rapidly decreased.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.235-242
• /
• 2015

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of soluble potassium silicate by soil drenching application on watermelon growth, yield, and nutrient uptake. The potassium silicate rates were control (No potassium silicate), 1.63mM, 3.25mM, 6.50mM. The potassium silicate were treated 6 times (twice before fruit forming and 4 times after fruit forming per 7 day. Soil chemical properties, such as soil pH, EC, available phosphorus and silicate, exchangeable K, nitrate-N levels were increased after potassium silicate treatment, while the concentrations of soil organic matter, exchangeable Ca and Mg were similar to control. The growth characteristics of watermelon, such as stem diameter, fresh and dry weight of watermelon at harvest were thicker and heavier for increased potassium silicate treatment than the control, while number of node, and plant length were same for all treatments. With increased potassium silicate treatment, nutrient concentrations, such as P and K in the watermelon leaf at harvest were increased, N concentration in the leaf was decreased, and Ca and Mg concentrations in the leaf were same. Chlorophyll content was increased with increased potassium silicate application. The occurrence of powdery mildew was lower for the potassium silicate treatments than the control. Fresh watermelon weight for the potassium silicate treatments was 0.1 to 0.5kg per watermelon heavier than the control, sugar content was 0.5 to $0.6^{\circ}Brix$ higher than control, and merchantable watermelon was 2 to 4% increased compared to the control. These results suggest that potassium silicate application by soil drenching method in the greenhouse can improve watermelon nutrient uptake, merchantable watermelon and suppress the occurrence of powdery mildew.