Title: Cost Benefit Analyses of Using Grafted Watermelon Transplants for Fusarium Wilt Disease Control
1Cost Benefit Analyses of Using Grafted Watermelon
Transplants for Fusarium Wilt Disease Control
- ISHS
- Transplants
- San Antonio, TX
- December 3-5, 2006
- Merritt Taylor, Benny Bruton,
- Wayne Fish, Warren Roberts
2Fusarium Wilt
- Is considered to be a vine decline disease of
watermelon where vine vigor gradually deteriorates
3Fusarium Wilt Symptoms
- Damping off
- Seedling Disease
- Wilt During any Stage of Development
4Fusarium wilt symptoms on mature plants typically
appear following fruit-set
- May appear as a dull gray-green appearance of the
leaves - Followed by yellowing of the crown foliage
- Wilting during the heat of the day
- Eventual death
5Grafting of watermelons
- May provide resistance to Fusarium wilt
6Grafting Watermelons for Disease Control is Not
New
- For many years - European Asian growers have
been grafting watermelon onto other Cucubitaceous
crops for - Soil-borne disease control
- Fusarium oxysporum f. sp niveum
- Nematode control
7Grafting Watermelons for Disease Control is Not
New
- More than 95 of Watermelon Production is Grafted
in - Japan
- Korea
8Historical Rootstocks for Disease Resistance
- Cucurbita (squash)
- Benincasa
- Lagenaria spp. (gourd)
- (These rootstocks are not resistant to
- all Soil-borne diseases)
9Susceptibility of some Rootstocks
- Bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria)
- Susceptible to F. oxysporum f. sp. lagenariae
- Watermelon
- Susceptible to Fusarium solani f sp. cucurbitae
Race 1 - Watermelon, squash, pumpkin
- Susceptible to Cucurbit Yellow Vine Disease
(CYVD) caused by Serratia marcescens
10Grafted Watermelon
11Disease Resistance Tests at Lane,
Oklahoma2-years of Experiments
- Five Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) scions
- Four Rootstocks
- Squash (Cucurbita sp) or
- Gourd (Langenaria sp)
12Five Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) Scions from
Abbot Cobb
- SF800, SS5244, SS7167, SS7177, SS7187
- Grown as
- Non-grafted plants
- or
- Grafted onto Rootstocks of
- RS1330, RS1332, RS1420, RS1421
13Commercially Grafted Plants
- Abbot Cobb Seed Company
- Alamo Transplants Inc., Alamo Texas
14Non-Grafted Controls
- Sangria
- Royal Sweet
- Jubilee
- Jamboree
15Disease Control Trials for 2 Years
- Two Fields Planted Each Year
- Three Replications of Each Treatment per Field
- Plants Grown at 1-Meter Spacing Between Plants
- Rows 3-Meters Apart
16Disease Control Results
- No Grafted Plants Lost to Fusarium wilt
- Other cultivars, especially Jubilee exhibited
varying degrees of wilt incidence.
17Additional Plants grown as Controls
- Non-Grafted Cultivars
- Sangria
- Royal Sweet
- Jubilee
- Jamboree
18Rootstock-Scion Selection Has Profound Effect on
Yield Fruit QualityPrevious Papers Have
Reported That Quality of Fruit Declined with
Grafting
19Examples of Poor Fruit Quality
- Yetisir Found When Squash Was Used as a
Rootstock - Yield and or Quality Was Often Inferior to
non-grafted plants
20Other Findings of Benefits of Grafting Other Than
Disease Control
- Off-season Production
- Early maturity for market window when prices are
high (previously unreachable) - Using low tunnels, grafted plants mature early in
Greece - Potential Yield Increases
- Ioannou et. al. found that The yield of grafted
Crimson Sweet watermelon reached a record level
of 150 tonnes/ha
21Lane Researchers Tested for Quality Attributes
- Yield
- Sugar Content
- Lycopene
- Firmness of Flesh
22Matching of scions with appropriate rootstock was
important
- Interactions did occur
- Certain combinations were significantly superior
to other combinations
23What Does This Mean to the Watermelon Industry?
24Cost of Transplants
- Non-grafted (seedless) watermelon - 0.28
- Grafted (seedless) Watermelon - 0.75
- 1,500 plants per acre
- 3,706 plants per hectare
25Table 1. Comparative Cost of Production in US
per Acre per Hectare
26To breakeven on the costs of planting non-grafted
plantsAt a cost of production of 2,698/haA
Farmer would need to sell 50,000kg/ha
27To breakeven on the costs of planting grafted
plants(An Increased Cost of 1,743/ha) At a
cost of production of 4,440/ha A Farmer would
need to sell 50,000kg/ha
28Normal conditions (with no disease)
- Non-grafted transplants
- 50,000 kg/ha expected production
- 0.17/kg expected selling price
- 2,302/ha profit
29Fusarium wilt disease infestation
- Non-grafted transplants
- 25,000 kg/ha expected reduced production
- 0.17/kg expected selling price
- -(198)/ha loss
30Fusarium wilt disease infestation
- Grafted transplants
- 50,000 kg/ha expected production
- 0.17/kg expected selling price
- 560/ha profit
31Risk Management Disease ControlA Practical
Question
- 50,000 kg/ha expected
- 0.17/kg expected
- 50 loss due to disease with non-grafted
- Non-grafted plants -(198)/ha loss
- Grafted Plants 560/ha profit (with 1,743
increased investment)
32Return on investment
- Non-grafted with disease -(198) loss
- Grafted 560 profit on 4,440 invested
12.6 return on investment
33Grafting of Watermelon May Help Farmers
- Will cost more
- Reduce losses due to diseases
- Potential increased yields
34Thank YouQuestions?
- Merritt Taylor
- Benny Bruton
- Wayne Fish
- Warren Roberts
- www.lane-ag.org