Bacterial fruit blotch (BFB) of cucurbits, caused by Acidovorax avenae subsp. citrulli, is a serious threat to the watermelon and melon industries. To date, there are no commercial cultivars of cucurbit crops
resistant to the disease. Here we assessed the level of tolerance to bacterial fruit blotch of various commercial cultivars
as well as breeding and wild lines of melon, using seed-transmission assays and seedling-inoculation experiments. Selected
cultivars were also tested in a greenhouse experiment with mature plants. All tested cultivars/lines were found to be susceptible
to the pathogen, and most of them showed different responses (relative tolerance vs. susceptibility) in the different assays;
however, some consistent trends were found: cv. ADIR339 was relatively tolerant in all tested assays, and cv. 6407 and wild
lines BLB-B and EAD-B were relatively tolerant in seed-transmission assays. We also provide evidence supporting a strong correlation
between the level of susceptibility of a cultivar/line and the ability of the pathogen to adhere to or penetrate the seed.
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to assess melon cultivars/lines for bacterial fruit blotch response. 相似文献
Increasing zinc (Zn) concentration of cereal grains is a global challenge to alleviate Zn deficiency‐related health problems in humans caused by low dietary Zn intake. This study investigated the effects of soil‐ and foliar‐applied nitrogen (N) and Zn fertilizers on grain Zn accumulation of durum wheat (Triticum durum) grown on a Zn‐deficient soil. In addition, localization of Zn and protein within durum wheat grain was studied by using Bradford reagent for protein and dithizone (diphenyl thiocarbazone) for Zn. Grain Zn concentration was greatly enhanced by soil or foliar applications of Zn. When Zn supply was adequately high, both soil and foliar N applications improved grain Zn concentration. Consequently, there was a significant positive correlation between grain concentrations of Zn and N, when Zn supply was not limiting. Protein and Zn staining studies showed co‐localization of Zn and protein within grain, particularly in the embryo and aleurone. Results indicate that N and Zn fertilization have a synergistic effect on grain Zn concentration. Possibly, increasing N supply contributes to grain Zn concentration by affecting the levels of Zn‐chelating nitrogenous compounds or the abundance of Zn transporters. Our results suggest that nitrogen management can be an effective agronomic tool to improve grain Zn concentration. 相似文献
The cover image, by Ofir Lidor et al., is based on the Research Article Introduction of a putative biocontrol agent into a range of phytoplasma‐ and liberibacter‐susceptible crop plants, DOI: 10.1002/ps.4775 .