Evaluation of alternatives to methyl bromide in melon crops in Guatemala

The monoculture of melon in Guatemala has caused the massive appearance of plants with an analogous syndrome for the well-known disease commonly called melon collapse, or vine decline, causing significant losses in crops. Methyl bromide is commonly used to sterilize soil prior to planting in Guatemala, but it must be phased out by 2015. The objective of this study was to evaluate the technique of grafting melon onto hybrids of Cucurbita (Cucurbita maxima x Cucurbita moschata), as an alternative to using soil disinfectants (such as Metam sodium, 1,3-dichloropropene, and methyl bromide) for the control of collapse. The results suggested that both soil disinfection and grafting were not necessary in these locations, since there were no statistical differences in terms of yields between the treatments and the untreated control. Furthermore, these results demonstrate that decisions to disinfect the soil must be based on the firm identification of the causal agents, in addition to preliminary assessments of yield losses.