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Horticultural crops :: Vegetables:: Musk melon and Water melon

Gummy Stem Blight: Mycosphaerella melonis

Symptoms

  • Infected stems first appear water-soaked and then become dry, coarse and tan.
  • Older stem lesions (dead tissue) reveal small black fruiting bodies (pycnidia) within the affected tissues.
  • Large lesions girdle stems and plants wilt in the heat of the day.
  • Stem lesions on melons exude a gummy, red-brown substance which may be mistaken for a symptom of Fusarium wilt.

Management

  • Use of disease-free seed and transplants is essential to prevent serious crop losses.
  • Periodic applications of fungicide like mancozeb @ 0.2% can help limit secondary infections, especially on fruits.
  • Fall plowing and extended rotations with other crops can significantly reduce the amount of inoculum in infested fields.

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