Fusarium incarnatum is associated with postharvest fruit rot of muskmelon (Cucumis melo)

Postharvest fruit rot was observed on muskmelon (Cucumis melo) on market shelves at a melon farm in the city of Hatyai, Songkhla, Thailand. Diseased muskmelon fruit displayed cotton-like mycelia on wounds and had brown to dark brown internal tissue. Based on morphological characteristics and molecular analysis of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF1-alpha) DNA sequences, the fungal pathogen was identified as Fusarium incarnatum. This species belongs to the Fusarium incarnatum-equiseti species complex (FIESC). A pathogenicity test was conducted to verify Koch's postulates, and F. incarnatum was observed to cause fruit rot on muskmelon; symptoms of the disease were similar to those seen in the field. However, only artificially wounded melons became infected, suggesting that F. incarnatum is an obligate wound-infecting pathogen. To our knowledge, this is the first report of F. incarnatum causing fruit rot of muskmelon in Thailand.