Journal of Bio-Environment Control ISSN:1229-4675(Print) 2765-3641(Online) 생물환경조절학회지

The interest in mini watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) with small fruits weighing 2-3 kg has increased by the increasing trend in one-person households and consequent tendency to consume small meals. Watermelon grafting onto cucurbit rootstocks is a very effective way to control soil-borne diseases, such as Fusarium wilt; however, this practice negatively impacts the fruit quality. This study was conducted to investigate the growth, fruit set, and fruit quality of mini watermelon grafted onto wild watermelon accessions (Citrullus spp.) resistant to Fusarium wilt. Five watermelon accessions (Galactica, IT 208441, PI 482322, PI 500303, and PI 593358) were evaluated as rootstocks for the mini watermelon “Ministar”. Non-grafted “Ministar” and “Ministar” grafted onto “Shintozwa” (Cucurbita maxima D. C. moschata D.) or “Bullojangsaeng” (Lagenaria leucantha) were used as controls. The roots of the transplants grafted onto “PI 593358” and “Shintozwa” weighed more than those on other rootstocks. Additionally, the transplants on “PI 593358” showed better growth and fruit set in the field than the other transplants. However, the total soluble solid contents and fruit quality indices of the transplants on “PI 593358” and “Shintozwa” were lower, whereas the total fruit quality index of those on “PI 482322” was higher. Thus, the wild watermelon accessions tested can potentially be used as basic germplasm for developing watermelon rootstocks instead of cucurbit rootstocks. The most promising accession for this purpose was found to be “PI 482322”.