Currently, there are no commercially available BFB-resistant
watermelon cultivars. Early reports of resistance in some cultivars
were disputed and, although five cultivars with BFB resistance
were reported, the horticultural traits of these lines were undesirable
(17). Identification of effective resistant cultivars is further
complicated by the fact that A. citrulli can infect all growth stages
of the watermelon plant, and the level of resistance may vary depending
on the plant stage being screened and the bacterial strains
used. For example, Bahar et al. recently reported that, whereas
certain melon cultivars had BFB-tolerant foliage, the BFB seed-toseedling
transmission rates were still high (2). In the absence of
resistance there is a need to develop a comprehensive integrated
disease management strategy for BFB. One environmentally sound
component that could be incorporated into this strategy is biological
control seed treatments.