Cantaloupe Fruit Blotch
June 25, 2001

Last week, bacterial fruit blotch was confirmed on the cantaloupe variety "Athena". Only foliar symptoms were present at the time of confirmation. These lesions appear as small, tan, angular lesions that will often follow leaf veins. These lesions will often lead to shotholes. The seedlot number was 231238. If you have growers with Athena cantaloupe of this seedlot please send in plant samples that exhibit the aforementioned symptoms. Pictures of the symptoms are available on the DDDI system as submission 1136. Copper products are often recommended to reduce the spread of fruit blotch but care should be taken when applying copper to cantaloupes as burn may occur. Avoid spraying during hot, sunny weather. Refer to the label for application specifics.

David B. Langston, Jr., University of Georgia, Extension Plant Pathologist-Vegetables