Cucurbit Specialists Launch Handy Website To Spread the Word on Plant Diseases
June 20, 2023 All sectors of the cucurbit industry — academia, private industry, and government — are coming together to better address cucurbit diseases. The members of the Emerging Viruses in Cucurbits Working Group (EVCWG) are working to improve communication on diseases with producers, Extension personnel, government representatives, and all others involved in the cucurbit industry.
“The EVCWG will identify and prioritize potential risk factors for viruses affecting cucurbits, known and potential virus threats, mitigation strategies for these viruses, methods to reduce virus threats, and will determine the best approaches to address these issues,” the team announced on eCucurbitViruses.org.
This effort follows a new trend within the USDA and academia: Bring together all who may be impacted by an issue, make sure everyone’s work is shared, and work together to identify which issues to tackle first.
Rebecca Melanson, an Associate Extension Professor at Mississippi State University, and Bill Wintermantel, Research Plant Pathologist, Virology, USDA ARS in Salinas, CA, head up the group as Co-Chairs.
To figure out just what they should communicate about, the team conducted a survey. The top three responses were:
1. Appearance of new and novel viruses
2. Diagnostics
3. [tie] Need for improved management options
[tie] Epidemiological factors affecting virus establishment
Meet eCucurbitViruses.org
One big step in this charge is the new website, eCucurbitViruses.org.
Under the Resources tab, you can find fact sheets, videos, and photo galleries on various cucurbit viruses. It’s a work in progress, but you can currently find postcards in English and Spanish on cucurbit chlorotic yellow virus (CCYV), cucurbit leaf crumple virus (CuLCrV), and cucurbit yellow stunting virus (CYSDV).
You can also access a webinar on cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV) on the site, along with a fact sheet on watermelon crinkle leaf-associated virus 1 and 2 (WCLaV-1 and WCLaV-2).
Under another useful tab, Diagnostics, you can find links to peer review journal articles on the emerging viruses listed in the Resources tab. If you have a more scientific interest, you can delve into how the diseases behaved in countries outside the U.S. as well as research that looks into specific aspects of the virus’ physiology and behavior.
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