Surface water poses a great risk to fruit and vegetable crops when contaminated by foodborne pathogens. Several factors impact the microbial quality of surface waters and increase the risk of produce contamination. Therefore, evaluating the factors associated with the prevalence of pathogenic microorganisms in agricultural water sources is critical to determine and establish preventive actions that may minimize the incidence of foodborne outbreaks associated with contaminated production water. In the Southeastern U.S. environmental factors such as rainfall, temperature, and seasonal variations have been associated with the prevalence of pathogens or microbial indicators of fecal contamination in water. Also, the geographical location of the irrigation sources as well as surrounding activities and land use play an important role on the survival and prevalence of pathogenic bacteria. Therefore, these factors may be determinants useful in the evaluation of production water quality and may help to preemptively identify scenarios or hazards associated with the incidence of foodborne pathogenic microorganisms.
Large populations of sweetpotato whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci) have become more regular occurrences during the fall months in parts of the southeastern United States. Large populations of sweetpotato whiteflies have resulted in a significant increase in the incidence of sweetpotato whitefly-transmitted viruses, particularly the cucurbit leaf crumple virus (CuLCrV), which has the potential to cause complete yield loss of fall-planted yellow squash and zucchini (Cucurbita pepo). This study evaluated commercial cultivars of yellow squash and zucchini for resistance against CuLCrV and estimated the yield and fruit quality under environmental conditions during the fall growing season in the southeastern United States. A factorial experimental design was conducted with nine yellow squash and 11 zucchini cultivars during Fall 2017, Fall 2018, and Fall 2019 in Tifton, GA. In situ weather stations monitored the weather conditions during growing seasons, and yellow pest monitor cards monitored the sweetpotato whitefly populations in 2018 and 2019. During all growing seasons, yellow squash and zucchini plants were rated weekly for the severity of CuLCrV. Harvests were conducted 12 times during each season, and fruit were graded as fancy, medium, and culls. Rainfall distribution directly affected the sweetpotato whitefly populations during the production year. In 2018, frequent rainfall events created field conditions that reduced the sweetpotato whitefly populations compared with those during 2017 and 2019. The severity of CuLCrV negatively impacted both the yield and quality of fruit of yellow squash and zucchini, and no resistant commercial cultivars of yellow squash or zucchini were identified. Nonetheless, the yellow squash cultivars Lioness, Gold Prize, and Grand Prize, and the zucchini cultivars SV6009YG and SV0914YG had the highest yields when subjected to the highest sweetpotato whitefly populations during the study.
Summer squash (Cucurbita pepo L.) is a major vegetable crop produced in Georgia and Florida during the fall season. This production is vulnerable to whitefly (Bemisisia tabaci Genn.)-transmitted viruses that lead to severe yield losses. Over the past several years, whitefly populations have increased during the fall, thus leading to an increase in whitefly-transmitted viruses such as Cucurbit leaf crumple virus (CuLCrV) and Cucurbit yellow stunting disorder virus (CYSDV). Whitefly management for summer squash relies on the use of insecticides and can be costly without providing adequate management of the viruses. Deployment of host resistance to whiteflies and their transmitted viruses (CuLCrV and CYSDV) is the best strategy for mitigating yield loss of summer squash; however, no resistant cultivars are commercially available. In the current study, resistance or tolerance to whiteflies, CuLCrV, and CYSDV was determined for squash germplasm from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), university breeding programs, and commercial companies in Georgia and Florida across 2 years. In both locations and years, visual virus symptom severity scores were collected and a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to determine the CuLCrV viral load and CYSDV presence in Georgia. Whitefly-induced feeding damage was evaluated by directly assessing the intensity of silverleaf symptoms and visual counts of whitefly adults on the foliage in the field or in photographs. Virus symptom severity was lower in C. moschata Duchesne ex Poir. genotypes, namely, PI 550689, PI 550692, PI 550694, PI 653064, and Squash Betternut 900, than in other evaluated genotypes. Two C. pepo accessions were common between both locations for viral severity (PI 442294) or viral severity and viral load (PI 171625). Lower CuLCrV loads were identified in C. ecuadorensis Cutler & Whitaker (PI 540895), and C. okeechobeensis (Small) L.H.Bailey (PI 540900) than other evaluated genotypes. Four genotypes tested negative for CYSDV during both years: C. pepo (PI 507882), C. moschata (PI 483345), C. ecuadorensis (PI 390455), and C. okeechobeensis (PI 540900); they are potential sources of resistance. Six C. moschata accessions (PI 211999, PI 550690, PI 550692, PI 550694, PI 634982, and PI 653064) showed high tolerance to silverleaf disorder and had the lowest adult whitefly counts. Collectively, the accessions identified in the current study are potential sources of resistance or tolerance to whitefly and whitefly-transmitted viruses (CuLCrV and CYSDV).
Methods of multivariate analysis is a powerful approach to assist the initial stages of crops genetic improvement, particularly, because it allows many traits to be evaluated simultaneously. In this study, heat-tolerant genotypes have been selected by analyzing phenotypic diversity, direct and indirect relationships among traits were identified, and four selection indices compared. Diversity was estimated using K-means clustering with the number of clusters determined by the Elbow method, and the relationship among traits was quantified by path analysis. Parametric and non-parametric indices were applied to selected genotypes using the magnitude of genotypic variance, heritability, genotypic coefficient of variance, and assigned economic weight as selection criteria. The variability among materials led to the formation of two non-overlapping clusters containing 40 and 154 genotypes. Strong to moderate correlations were found between traits with direct effect of the number of commercial fruit on the mass of commercial fruit. The Smith and Hazel index showed the greatest total gains for all criteria; however, concerning the biochemical traits, the Mulamba and Mock index showed the highest magnitudes of predicted gains. Overall, the K-means clustering, correlation analysis, and path analysis complement the use of selection indices, allowing for selection of genotypes with better balance among the assessed traits.
Methods of multivariate analysis is a powerful approach to assist the initial stages of crops genetic improvement, particularly, because it allows many traits to be evaluated simultaneously. In this study, heat-tolerant genotypes have been selected by analyzing phenotypic diversity, direct and indirect relationships among traits were identified, and four selection indices compared. Diversity was estimated using K-means clustering with the number of clusters determined by the Elbow method, and the relationship among traits was quantified by path analysis. Parametric and non-parametric indices were applied to selected genotypes using the magnitude of genotypic variance, heritability, genotypic coefficient of variance, and assigned economic weight as selection criteria. The variability among materials led to the formation of two non-overlapping clusters containing 40 and 154 genotypes. Strong to moderate correlations were found between traits with direct effect of the number of commercial fruit (NCF) on the mass of commercial fruit (MCF). The Smith and Hazel index showed the greatest total gains for all criteria; however, concerning the biochemical traits, the Mulamba and Mock index showed the highest magnitudes of predicted gains. Overall, the K-means clustering, correlation analysis, and path analysis complement the use of selection indices, allowing for selection of genotypes with better balance among the assessed traits.
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