First report of gummy stem blight caused by Stagonosporopsis cucurbitacearum on cantaloupe in Thailand

Cantaloupe (Cucumis melo var. cantalupo) has become an economically important crop in Thailand and the fruit is popular among consumers. In June 2016, gummy stem blight, an important disease of cucurbits, was found on cantaloupe in Phayao Province, Thailand. The causal fungus was isolated from lesions and identified as Stagonosporopsis cucurbitacearum based on morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analysis of combined sequences of the internal transcribed spacer and large subunit regions of ribosomal DNA, and -tubulin genes. The isolated fungus caused symptoms of gummy stem blight on inoculated cantaloupe, which were similar to the natural symptoms observed in the field. This is the first report in Thailand of gummy stem blight disease on cantaloupe caused by S. cucurbitacearum.