First Report of Myrothecium verrucaria from Muskmelon Seeds

Myrothecium verrucaria (Albertini & Schwein.) Ditmar:Fr. was isolated from muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) seeds of Charentais-T, a culti var used as a differential host with no resistance to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. melonis races. A white floccose mycelial mat developed on melon seeds during incubation on moist blotters. Mycelia were mass transferred from melon seeds onto potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium. At 25°C in the dark, a mycelial mat with characteristic annelations of greenish-black sporodochia, without setae, was produced. Conidia (2 to 3 × 6 to 10 μm) were lemon shaped, with a typical conical mucous appendage at one end, which was visible with Loeffer's flagella stain (1). Based on these characteristics, the fungus was identified as M. verrucaria. For pathogenicity studies, surface sterilized seeds of C. melo cv. Charentais-T were coated with M. verrucaria conidia by gently rubbing the seeds on sporodochia produced on 15-day-old cultures on PDA. Once coated, seeds were plated onto water agar and on sterile moist blotters in 9-cm-diameter petri dishes. Plates were incubated at 28°C in the dark. Five seeds per plate and three plates per experiment were used. Experiments were replicated three times. Control seeds were plated without coating. After 7 days, on water agar, 90% of melon seeds failed to germinate while the remaining 10% produced young seedlings that died from root rot and necrotic lesions on the hypocotyl. After 12 days on moist blotters, 100% of the melon seedlings died, showing necrotic lesions on the hypocotyl and on the main root. The pathogen was reisolated from symptomatic melon seedlings. All control seeds germinated and grew into healthy seedlings. M. verrucaria, known to be a seed-borne pathogen, has been isolated from soil and plants worldwide (2). This is the first report of M. verrucaria pathogen on muskmelon. This fungus is not a serious concern when seeds are dressed with fungicides. References: (1) K. V. A. Thompson and S. C. Simmens. Nature. 193:196, 1962. (2) S.-M. Yang and S. C. Jong. Plant Dis. 79:994, 1995.