A Wilt-Resistant Watermelon for Florida


 After the death of the plant, the fungus spreads rapidly
throughout the entire plant and produces masses of spores on
the surface. These are pale pink in color and are not especially
conspicuous. In this condition the fungus is easily disseminated
by wind, water, and
other agencies. Since
each of the countless
spores in the mass is
capable of initiating a
new infestation,the in- .
fested areas in fields
may increase greatly
in size from year to
year. Thus, it is haz-
ardous to plant a field I i
the second year with
the commercial varie- ," .
ties of melons. '.
 In view of the fore- .
going facts, sprays or
dusts are valueless in
controlling the disease
and it is apparent that
the most feasible and
economic means of
combatting it is the
development of varie-
ties or strains of wa-
termelons that are re-
sistant to it. In the
watermelon-producing
area of Muscatine,
Iowa, where 90 per-
cent of the former
acreage was aban-
 Fig. 5.-Longitudinal sections of lower por-
doned because of the tion of stems of wilted watermelon plants,
ravages of wilt, the showing browning of vascular tissue. Note in
 stem at right that the discoloration is con-
use of wilt-resistant fined to one side.
varieties developed by
the Iowa Experiment Station has permitted a large part of
this acreage to be replanted. The varieties developed by the
Iowa Station, however, have not proved suitable for Florida