Report of gummy stem blight (Didymella bryoniae (Fuckel) Rehm) symptomatology on watermelon fruits (Citrillus lunatus (Thumb) Matsum and Nakai) in the isle of youth, Cuba

Reporte de síntomas del tizón gumoso del tallo (Didymella bryoniae (Fuckel) Rehm) en frutos de melón (Citrillus lunatus (Thumb) Matsum and Nakai) en la Isla de la Juventud, Cuba

Dear Sir,

Spots were detected on fruits of 60 day old watermelon plants (Citrillus lunatus (Thumb) Matsum and Nakai) variety Charleston Gray. They began as tiny wet yellow points, which increased up to 85 mm in diameter becoming brown to black spots, where reproductive structures could be seen. In the flesh and rind, the progression of the disease with yellow to brown areas was observed. The presence of gummy stem blight (Didymella bryoniae (Fuckel) Rehm) was demonstrated by the morphological characteristics and pathogenicity tests of the agent isolated from collected samples. This is the first report of this pathogen on watermelon fruits in the municipality of the Isle of Youth.

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Jesús Pérez^I, Benedicto Martínez^II, Marta Moreno^I

^IFacultad de Agronomía. Universidad de la Isla de la Juventud. Nueva Gerona Cuba. E-mail: jperez@cuij.edu.cu.
^IIDirección de Protección de Plantas, Centro Nacional de Sanidad Agropecuaria (CENSA), Apartado 10, San José de las Lajas, Mayabeque, Cuba. E-mail: bmcoca@censa.edu.cu. ]]>