Generation of infested watermelon seed lots. Four A. citrulli
infested seed lots (two seed lots each by pericarp- and pistilinoculation)
were generated for this study (Table 1). Pericarpinoculated
seed lots (1 and 2) were generated under greenhouse
conditions in 2008 and 2009, respectively, as follows. Briefly, 20
watermelon plants (‘Crimson Sweet’) were grown in 15-liter
plastic pots and at anthesis, 30 to 40 attached female blossoms
were pollinated and simultaneously inoculated by gently rubbing
their ovaries with a cotton swab saturated with a cell suspension
with ≈1 × 106 AAC00-1 CFU/ml. Blossoms were enclosed in
plastic bags for 24 h and fruits were allowed to develop for
30 days after pollination.