Ingress of the Watermelon Fruit Blotch Bacterium into Fruit

Abstract

Bacteria were observed with the scanning electron microscope to be located randomly on water-melon (Citrullus lanatus) fruit surfaces 2 hr after inoculation with drops of suspensions of the fruit blotch bacterium. For the next 4 days, bacteria were observed around and in stomata. Nine days after inoculation, masses of rod-shaped bacteria were observed in stomatal chambers. The incidence of disease decreased with age of the fruit at the time of inoculation