ARS | Publication request: Integrated Pest Management for Melon Production in the Desert Southwest United States

Submitted to: Cucurbitaceae Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: September 13, 2010
Publication Date: November 14, 2010
Citation: Mccreight, J.D., Wintermantel, W.M., Natwick, E.T., Palumbo, J.C. 2010. Integrated Pest Management for Melon Production in the Desert Southwest United States. Cucurbitaceae Proceedings.

Technical Abstract: Sweet potato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius), biotype B (SPWF-B) and Cucurbit yellow stunting disorder virus (CYSDV) are serious threats to sustainable melon (Cucumis melo L.) production in the desert Southwest United States, particularly during the Fall season. PI 313970 (var. acidulus) exhibited high-level resistance to CYSDV in replicated field tests in Imperial Valley, Calif. under high (Fall 2008) and low (Spring 2009) SPWF-B feeding pressure. Mean plant condition ratings of PI 313970 were significantly (P0.05) better than those of the susceptible control, ‘Top Mark’, in both tests, but their plant condition frequency distributions overlapped to a great extent under high SPWF-B feeding pressure (Fall 2008). Their plant condition frequency distributions were skewed in opposite directions under low SPWF-B feeding pressure (Spring 2009), and mean plant condition of PI 313970 was comparable to that expected of melons grown in the absence of SPWF-B and CYSDV. SPWF-B populations must, therefore, be held to low levels in order to optimize expression of genetic resistance to CYSDV during the development of CYSDV-resistant melon cultivars adapted to the desert Southwest United States and to ensure its expression in sustainable melon production systems.