Study of different rootstocks behavior in a crop of seedless watermelon

The use of the graft in watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) has been used to avoid problems because of the vascular fungus Fusarium oxysporum. Recently, they have been appeared other health problems such as nematode attack, Melon necrotic spot virus (MNSV) and other problems that can be reduced with the right choice of the rootstock. In outdoor crops, they were analyzed different rootstocks: interspecific hybrids of Cucurbita maxima x C. moschata, C. moschata, Lagenaria siceraria and Citrullus lanatus. The cultivars used in this experiment were 'Babba', as triploid cultivar and 'Pata negra' as diploid cv. (pollinator). It was compared the behavior of 8 rootstocks and a control without grafting. It has been detected a very high incidence of nematodes in this experience. Therefore, they were analyzed production parameters and the response of the plant in terms of viguor, mortality rate and nodulation index of the roots due to nematodes. The main plant health problem was the presence of nematodes, whose incidence was lower in the watermelon rootstock cv. Robusta and in the control without grafting. Although the largest commercial yield and the average weight of the fruit was achieved by the hybrid rootstocks of pumpkin (C. maxima x C. moschata).