FIELD-TESTS FOR CUCUMBER RESISTANCE TO GUMMY STEM BLIGHT IN NORTH-CAROLINA

Gummy stem blight [Didymella bryoniae (Auersw.) Rehm] is the second most important pathogen of field-grown cucumbers (Cucumis sativus L.) in North Carolina and a severe problem for greenhouse-grown cucumbers worldwide. To determine whether resistance exists under North Carolina field conditions, 83 cultigens [cultivars, breeding lines, and plant introduction (PI) accessions] were evaluated in the field for 4 years for their resistance to a mixture of D. bryoniae isolates. Plants were inoculated at the vine tip-over stage and rated for foliar lesion size and number. Cultigens identified as resistant in Wisconsin and The Netherlands were not resistant in North Carolina. When averaged over years and locations, the most resistant C. sativus cultigens were PI 164433, 'Slice', PI 390264, M 17, and M 12. Several accessions of related Cucumis species were highly resistant: PI 299568 (C. myriocarpus Naud.), PI 282450 (C. zeyheri Sond.), PI 299572 (C. myriocarpus), and PI 233646 (C. anguria L.). The most susceptible cultivars were 'Colet', 'Meresto', 'Supergreen', 'Dura', 'Pioneer', 'Marketmore 76', 'Pickmore', and 'Addis'. 'Calypso' and 'Dasher II', popular cultivars in North Carolina, were moderately susceptible.