Evaluation of watermelon and related species for resistance to race 1W powdery mildew

Powdery mildew [Podosphaera xanthii (Castagne) Braun & Shishkoff (syn. Sphaerotheca fuliginea auct. p.p.)] is now a common disease on watermelon [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai] in the United States. In this study, the entire available U.S. Plant Introduction collection of Citrullus Schrad. ex Eckl. & Zeyh. species was evaluated for resistance to P. xanthii race 1W. The collection consists of four Citrullus species and one Praecitrullus Pangalo species [C. lanatus var. citroides (L.H. Bailey) Mansf., C. colocynthis (L.) Schrad., C. rehmii De Winter, and P. fistulosus (Stocks) Pangalo]. Wild-type accessions tended to be more resistant more often than the cultivated species, C. lanatus var. lanatus. None were immune, eight of the 1573 accessions exhibited high levels of resistance, and another 86 demonstrated intermediate resistance. Stem and leaf disease severity were weakly correlated (r2 = 0.64, P = 0.001). The majority of accessions having resistance were collected in Zimbabwe. Resistance was found in four species.