<i>Fusarium incarnatum</i> is associated with postharvest fruit rot of muskmelon (<i>Cucumis melo</i>)

Abstract

Abstract Postharvest fruit rot was observed on muskmelon ( Cucumis melo ) on market shelves at a melon farm in the city of Hatyai, Songkhla, Thailand. Diseased muskmelon fruit displayed cotton‐like mycelia on wounds and had brown to dark brown internal tissue. Based on morphological characteristics and molecular analysis of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and translation elongation factor 1‐α ( TEF1 ‐ α ) DNA sequences, the fungal pathogen was identified as Fusarium incarnatum. This species belongs to the Fusarium incarnatum ‐ equiseti species complex (FIESC). A pathogenicity test was conducted to verify Koch's postulates, and F. incarnatum was observed to cause fruit rot on muskmelon; symptoms of the disease were similar to those seen in the field. However, only artificially wounded melons became infected, suggesting that F. incarnatum is an obligate wound‐infecting pathogen. To our knowledge, this is the first report of F. incarnatum causing fruit rot of muskmelon in Thailand.