| Abstrak/Abstract |
Powdery Mildew is one of the most important melon diseases caused by ascomycetes fungi belonging to the genus of Sphaerotheca and Erysiphe. Breeding is considered the best approach to control Powdery Mildew infection in melon. MG3 is a melon cultivar derived from ‘MG1’ x ‘Ladika’ and has been estimated to carry a resistant gene on Powdery Mildew infection inherited from MG1. The aim of this research is to find out the percentage and phenotype characters of Powdery Mildew infection in MG3 compared to 4 commercial melons, such as Action 434, Glamour, MAI and Ladika that are popular in the market. Five melons are cultivated in greenhouse B of KP4 UGM. After 5 weeks, the plants were inoculated with Powdery Mildew in the leaves area. The percentage of disease infection was measured after 3 days inoculation for 8 times in 24 days with a grid line (21 cm x 21 cm with small cubics 1,5 cm x 1,5 cm). The analysis of infection level was done using Fukino protocol. The results showed that cultivar MG3 was tolerant and stable to Powdery Mildew infection compared to cultivar Action 434, MAI and Ladika in leaves, plant and population level. The infection of Powdery Mildew caused severe leaf distortion and decreased the ability to photosynthesize in leaf tissue resulting in necrosis, chlorosis and death to the infected leaves. In fruit, infection causes break in the net, immature and rotten flesh, decrease in sweetness and scent in cultivar Action434, MAI and Ladika. According to microscopic analysis, isolate KP4 UGM belongs to a member of Podosphaera. |
