Photos and Table 1 for article: Beyond the harvest: saving seed
by Dan Egel, Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center

When harvesting seed from fruit, it is important to inspect both the fruit and the plant for disease symptoms to avoid possible seed borne contamination. Two diseased watermelon plants are pictured, one with Fusarium wilt of watermelon (A - on the left) and the other with anthracnose of watermelon (B - on the right). Harvesting seed from the fruit of either diseased plant may result in seed contaminated with a seed borne disease organism. Although disease symptoms are present on both plants, only the anthracnose-infected fruit has visible symptoms on the fruit surface.

Photo, Rick Latin
Photo Dan Egel

Host

Disease

Comments

Carrot

bacterial blight

Treat seeds in hot water at 126 F for 25 minutes

Celery

early blight

Also known as Cercospora blight

Lettuce

Septoria leaf spot

Treat seeds for 3 minutes in 118 F

Pepper

pepper mild mottle virus

Internal and external contamination of seed

Pumpkin

bacterial leaf spot

Fruit symptoms may appear as small white 'pimples'

Snap bean

common bacterial blight

Internal and external contamination of seed

Snap bean

Fusarium yellows

Spores adhere to seed coat

Soybean

anthracnose

Seed coat contaminated by spores

Soybean

Cercospora blight

Also known as purple seed stain

Tomato

bacterial canker

Most common symptom is a "firing" on leaf margin. 

Tomato/pepper

bacterial spot

Spreads rapidly in warm, rainy weather.

Watermelon

anthracnose

Leaf and stem symptoms precede fruit lesions. 

Watermelon

bacterial fruit blotch

Hot water and bleach not effective controls

Watermelon

Fusarium wilt

Once established in a field, can survive many years.

Watermelon

gummy stem blight

Over winters well in crop residue. 

Wheat

ergot

Has been largely controlled through the use of disease free seed
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