Investigation of potentials of the using grafted seedling in the management of Fusarium wilt in Çeşme melon production

'Çeşme' is one of the local melon varieties grown in Urla Peninsula in Turkey. In the cultivation of this variety significant amount of yield losses occur due to the Fusarium wilt disease caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. melonis (Fom). 'Çeşme' shows high susceptibility to all races of Fom. The use of grafted seedlings with disease resistant rootstocks for the management of Fusarium wilt provided very successful results in recent years. This study was carried out to investigate the possibilities for the development of Fusarium wilt-resistant or tolerant 'Çeşme' seedlings by using disease resistant rootstocks of Cucurbits. For this purpose, in this study, 'Çeşme 10' genotype was grafted on to 'Sphinx RZ', 'Albatros', 'Isabelle', 'Kırkağaç 637' were used as melon rootstocks and 'Acar' and 'TZ-148' (Cucurbita maxima X Cucurbita moschata) were used as squash hybrid rootstocks. Gratfting was performed by using the inclined cut method. Grafted seedling were tested against four different races of Fom (race0, race 1, race2 and race 1-2). Plants inoculated with 'TZ-148' and 'Acar' from pumpkin rootstocks were found to be completely resistant to all of the four races of Fom. Although the disease incidence in the plants grafted with 'Sphinx RZ', 'Albatros', which are commercial melon rootstocks, varied depending on the races of Fom, however, the disease incidence was found to be significantly lower than the non-grafted 'Çeşme 10' plants. The two non-commercial diseased resistant melon cultivars, 'Isabelle' and 'Kırkağaç 637' did not show grafting compatibility and disease control at the desired level. In conclusion, the use of disease resistant grafted seedlings can be considered as an an alternative method for the management of Fusarium wilt disease on Çeşme melon. Key Words: Fusarium Wilt, Fusarium Oxysporum F.Sp. Melonis, Melon, Çeşme 10, Grafted Seedling