Bacterial fruit blotch
Encyclopedia
Bacterial fruit blotch is a disease
of watermelon
and other cucurbit
crops caused by bacterium Acidovorax avenae
subsp. citrulli. The disease can be seed borne and is first noticed as small water-soaked lesions on seedlings. Inoculum can also originate on volunteer and wild cucurbits near fields and transplant operations. Bacterial fruit blotch can cause crop losses if allowed to progress in fields. Prevention is possible via several methods.
The best prevention against bacterial fruit blotch is to grow cucurbits
in areas of the world that are not susceptible to the disease due to unfavorable environmental conditions. If this is not possible, having seed tested via a grow out, sweat box, or polymerase chain reaction
method to ensure that it is clean before planting is a good idea. Several companies test seed with these methods, such as STA, Seminis
, and Syngenta
.
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
of watermelon
Watermelon
Watermelon is a vine-like flowering plant originally from southern Africa. Its fruit, which is also called watermelon, is a special kind referred to by botanists as a pepo, a berry which has a thick rind and fleshy center...
and other cucurbit
Cucurbitaceae
The plant family Cucurbitaceae consists of various squashes, melons, and gourds, including crops such as cucumber, pumpkins, luffas, and watermelons...
crops caused by bacterium Acidovorax avenae
Acidovorax avenae
Acidovorax avenae is a Gram-negative soil bacterium. A. avenae subsp. citrulli is the causal agent of bacterial fruit blotch....
subsp. citrulli. The disease can be seed borne and is first noticed as small water-soaked lesions on seedlings. Inoculum can also originate on volunteer and wild cucurbits near fields and transplant operations. Bacterial fruit blotch can cause crop losses if allowed to progress in fields. Prevention is possible via several methods.
The best prevention against bacterial fruit blotch is to grow cucurbits
Cucurbitaceae
The plant family Cucurbitaceae consists of various squashes, melons, and gourds, including crops such as cucumber, pumpkins, luffas, and watermelons...
in areas of the world that are not susceptible to the disease due to unfavorable environmental conditions. If this is not possible, having seed tested via a grow out, sweat box, or polymerase chain reaction
Polymerase chain reaction
The polymerase chain reaction is a scientific technique in molecular biology to amplify a single or a few copies of a piece of DNA across several orders of magnitude, generating thousands to millions of copies of a particular DNA sequence....
method to ensure that it is clean before planting is a good idea. Several companies test seed with these methods, such as STA, Seminis
Seminis
Seminis is the largest developer, grower and marketer of fruit and vegetable seeds in the world. Seminis' hybrids claim to improve nutrition, boost crop yields, limit spoilage and reduce the need for chemicals...
, and Syngenta
Syngenta
Syngenta AG is a large global Swiss agribusiness company which notably markets seeds and pesticides. Syngenta is involved in biotechnology and genomic research. The company is a leader in crop protection, and ranks third in total sales in the commercial agricultural seeds market. Sales in 2010 were...
.