Аннотация:Fusarium wilt of watermelon [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai] is caused by Fusarium oxysporum Schlecht. (emend. Snyd. & Hans.) f. sp. niveum (E.F. Sm.). The disease was first described by Smith (1894) from South Carolina and Georgia in the United States. It is now well-established throughout the watermelon-growing regions of the world. Once a field is infested, the Fusarium wilt pathogen may survive for many years and can seriously limit watermelon production in those fields. Long-term crop rotation (5 to 10 years) and leaving the soil fallow for several years helps reduce the pathogen population in the soil, but generally does not eradicate the pathogen. Even in cases where the pathogen is reduced to noneconomic levels, reintroduction via contaminated soil or seed is possible. Over the years, attempts to control Fusarium wilt have focused on several approaches, including soil polarization (Martyn and Hartz, 1986), induced resistance (Biles and Martyn, 1989; Davis, 1967; Shimotsuma et al., 1972), cultural practices (Hopkins and Elmstrom, 1976; Jones et al., 1975; Sun and Huang, 1985), fumigation (Hopkins and Elmstrom, 1979), and grafting (Kuniyasu, 1981). However, genetic resistance has
