INHERITANCE OF RESISTANCE TO THE FLORIDA STRAIN OF ZUCCHINI YELLOW MOSAIC-VIRUS IN WATERMELON

A high level of resistance to zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) was found in four landraces of Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai (PI 482322, PI 482299, PI 482261, and PI 482308) originally collected in Zimbabwe. This resistance is specific to the Florida strain of the virus (ZYMV-FL), which prevails in the United States. Inheritance studies were conducted by using a single-plant selection (PP261-I) of PI 482261 and the ZYMV-susceptible watermelon cultivar New Hampshire Midget. In F1, F2, and reciprocal backcross populations, resistance was conferred by a single recessive gene to which the symbol zym is assigned. There was no linkage between zym and one of the three homodimer bands of the isozyme phosphoglucoisomerase (Pgi-2b), which was found in PP261-1, and in other ZYMV-FL resistant plants.