IDENTIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF Fusarium spp. FROM MUSKMELON IN NORTHWEST MEXICO

Abstract

Muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) is a primary crop of Mexico. Nevertheless, the fruit has a high susceptibility to postharvest fungal diseases. Fusarium species are one of the main causes of diseases that limit production of muskmelon. The objective of this study was to characterize and identify by taxonomic keys and molecular markers species of Fusarium related to rot of muskmelon var. Reticulatus in Northwest Mexico. To identify the causative agent, fruits were collectedm from cultivated fields. The isolated fungi were inoculated on muskmelon to determine its pathogenicity. Morphological analyses as well as molecular techniques confirmed that the pathogen was the fungus Fusarium proliferatum.

Fusarium annulatum causes Fusarium rot of cantaloupe melons in Spain

“…In Spain, F. proliferatum has been reported as a frequent pathogen in the production of garlic, causing rots during storage (Gálvez et al, 2017), while it has also been detected in strawberry crops, where it causes vascular wilt (Borrero et al, 2019). In Mexico, Rivas-García et al (2018) found F. annulatum causing rot in muskmelon, where affected fruits showed tissue darkening and thickening, with dehydrated and pinkish white exocarps. In the present case, the pink-violet colouration was not detected in the mycelium that developed in the fruit, but was detected during subsequent isolation of the pathogen on synthetic culture medium.…”

Effect of Ulvan on the Biocontrol Activity of Debaryomyces hansenii and Stenotrophomonas rhizophila against Fruit Rot of Cucumis melo L.

“…The pathogen Fusarium proliferatum was previously isolated from infected melon fruits and maintained in potato dextrose agar (PDA, at dose of 39 g L −1 ) plates at 4 • C for storage [26]. To reactivate the culture and verify their pathogenicity, the pathogen was inoculated into wounded melon fruits and re-isolated onto PDA after infection was established.…”

New host-pathogen associations of horticultural crops in the south-east of Spain

“…Perteneciente al mismo complejo de especies, Oliveira et al (2014) estudiaron determinados factores que afectaban a la podredumbre seca corchosa originada por Fusarium semitectum en frutos de melón.Por último, del complejo de especies Fusarium fujikuroi (FFSC), se detectó por primera vez en México, a la especie Fusarium proliferatum causando enfermedad en Cucumis melo var. reticulatus(Rivas-Garcia et al, 2018). De acuerdo conYilmaz et al (2021), algunas secuencias de material tipo identificadas como F. proliferatum están siendo actualmente identificadas como F. annulatum.…”