Root rot of Cucurbitaceae plants, caused by Monosporascus cannonballus, is one of the recently described diseases in Korea. The distribution and pathogenicity of M. cannonballus were examined by field and in vitro experiments. Root rot caused by M. ca...
Root rot of Cucurbitaceae plants, caused by Monosporascus cannonballus, is one of the recently described diseases in Korea. The distribution and pathogenicity of M. cannonballus were examined by field and in vitro experiments. Root rot caused by M. cannonballus occurred on melon, oriental melon, watermelon and cucumber plants. In two years of disease survey, the disease occurred at 10 and 32 fields in 1997 and 1998, respectively, which were located at Kimhae, Chinju, and Namhae in Kyeongnam province, at Kwangyang in Chonnam province, at Kwangju city, and at Yeoju and Inchon in Kyeonggi province. The disease progress in a melon field at Namhae was not observed until the middle stage of plant growth, but rapidly increased at the fruit maturing stage, resulting in more than 50% yield loss. Isolation rate of M. cannonballus was 36.7% from wilted hosts. Fusarium oxysporum and Rhizoctonia solani were also frequently isolated. In vitro test, seedlings wilted after 7∼14 days of inoculation, and perithecia were formed in infected roots 21 days later. Two cucumber cultivars, Baekbong and Eunhwa, were resistant to the disease.