Research

NWA Funded Research from 2023 Grant Program: Increasing pollinator visitation and controlling whiteflies

On-farm research trials at conducted in Barnwell County, SC with a history of severe Fusarium Wilt in watermelon.  A number of treatments with and without the application of arbuscular mycorrhizae fungi, and comparing with Carolina Strongback grafted watermelon. This research was funded by NWA as part of the 2023 Grant Program. Read more here.

Fusarium wilt of watermelon, caused by the fungus *Fusarium oxysporum* f. sp. *niveum* (FON), leads to substantial yield loss in watermelon crops. This disease is prevalent worldwide, including Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. It can cause pre- or post-emergence damping-off of seedlings and rapid death of young plants under suitable conditions….

A trial in Berrien County, Georgia, tested fungicides for Fusarium wilt in watermelons transplanted on 11 April. Despite cool, wet conditions, Fusarium wilt developed slowly, with Proline and Actigard treatments reducing disease incidence by late May. However, no differences in yield or stand loss were observed between treated and untreated plots, and no phytotoxicity was…

A trial at the University of Georgia tested Fusarium wilt (FW) management in watermelons using fungicides. Watermelons were transplanted into beds, with some plots inoculated with Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. niveum race 1 (FON1) and others left non-inoculated. Proline fungicide treatments reduced FW incidence and stand loss in inoculated plots, but there was no effect on…

Fusarium wilt, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. niveum (FON), leads to significant losses for U.S. watermelon growers, with resistance available in some cultivars but not in most seedless varieties, and no resistance to FON race 3. While crop rotation and grafted transplants offer some control, these methods are not economically viable for most growers, prompting…

Early-planted watermelons experienced higher disease incidence and greater yield losses from Fusarium wilt compared to later plantings, with yields reduced by over half in early plantings when inoculated with F. oxysporum f. sp. niveum. Later plantings saw yield reductions of 25% or less, resulting in yield savings of 5,000 to 15,000 lb/A, while the impact…

In this study we proposed a field trial to (i) confirm resistance, (ii) make further selections in the field, and (iii) collect data for further inheritance studies for a watermelon selection (WS896) that is resistant to Fusarium oxsysporum f.sp. niveum race 2 (FOS 2) in the greenhouse. Our results indicated that field resistance in WS-896…