Methods of inoculation of rhizoctonia solani and macrophomina phaseolina in melon (cucumis melo)

Abstract

The use of inoculation methods is a strategic measure in the study of cucurbits resistance. The aim of this study was to evaluate two methods of inoculation of Rhizoctonia solani and Macrophomina phaseolina in melon, focusing resistance. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse at the Rural Federal University of the Semi-arid, in Mossoró – RN, Brazil. Five accessions were evaluated: A-09, A-16, A-18, A-22 and A-33 for R. solani and A-09, A-16, A-24, MR-1 and ‘Olympic’ for M. phaseolina. The studied methods were sandy-organic and toothpick. A completely randomized design was adopted, including five replicates. The used isolates were: Me 242, Me 243, Me 244 of R. solani and I-248, I-249 and I-250 of M. phaseolina. Melon accessions were evaluated for disease severity by means of a score scale from 1 to 5. The toothpick method was the most efficient in discriminating between resistant and susceptible melon accessions and R. solani and M. phaseolina isolates for virulence.