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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Salinas, California » Crop Improvement and Protection Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #315962

Title: Host plant resistance in melon (Cucumis melo L.) to sweetpotato whitefly in California and Arizona

Author
item McCreight, James - Jim
item Wintermantel, William - Bill
item NATWICK, ERIC - University Of California - Cooperative Extension Service

Submitted to: International Symposium on Cucurbits Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/28/2015
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Sweetpotato whitefly (MEAM1 cryptic species of Bemisia tabaci; SPWF) feeding severely impacts fall season melon yield and quality in the lower deserts of California and Arizona. Melon accessions PI 313970 and TGR 1551 (PI 482420) have been reported to exhibit host plant resistance (HPR) to SPWF. Potentially higher levels of HPR to SPWF were observed in ad hoc comparisons of numbers of adults per leaf on six melon accessions, PI 313970, TGR 1551, ‘Impac’, and ‘Top Mark’ in a naturally infested field test at Holtville, CA in fall 2012. Replicated field tests at Holtville in fall 2013 and spring 2014 (when SPWF populations are lower than in the fall) compared SPWF infestation of five (PI 116482, PI 123689, PI 124107, PI 124431, PI 145594) of the six accessions with PI 313970, TGR 1551, TGR 1937 (PI 482431), ‘Top Mark’ and ‘Impac’. There were few significant difference among the entries in either season for numbers of adults, eggs, crawlers, red eyes, or nymphs per cm2 leaf area. Though there were significant (P<0.05) differences among the entries for number of adults per cm2 leaf area at seven weekly sampling dates in fall 2013, none of the accessions had consistently fewer adults than ‘Impac’ or ‘Top Mark’. There were few differences among the entries in spring 2014 for numbers of adults per cm2 leaf area. PI 116482 had the most, and PI 145594, PI 313970 and TGR 1937 had the fewest adults on average.