Diseases and Disease Management Strategies Take Top Research Priority in the Watermelon Research and Development Group Members Survey (2014 to 2015)

Watermelon is an important crop grown for its fruit in the United States and many other countries across the world. A survey of members of the Watermelon Research and Development Group was conducted (2014 to 2015) to identify and rank research priorities. Participants were asked to assign a ranking from 1 to 10 for 25 listed priorities with 1 being most important. Priorities were partitioned into five groups on the basis of the results of several complementary analyses. Based on 30 respondents included in the final analysis, diseases and strategies for their management were identified as the most important research priorities. Fusarium wilt and host resistance to gummy stem blight were considered top priorities and were included in group 1. Group 2 included bacterial fruit blotch, anthracnose resistance, Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus, fruit yield, improved post-harvest fruit quality, and powdery mildew. Group 3 included seedless pollination, Phytophthora fruit rot, seedless hybrid production, hollow heart, downy mildew, firm flesh, and sugar content. Grafting methods, various viral diseases, and whitefly resistance were included in the 4th group. All write-in priorities fell into the 5th group. The present survey results indicates that research efforts should be directed towards developing solutions for managing important watermelon diseases.

Accepted for publication 23 March 2016. Published 29 March 2016.