help out a researcher!

[mskrieger]

Fellow cucurbit aficionados,

Apparently there is a new bacterial disease of squash in the North American Northeast and Midwest. Some researchers at North Carolina State University are calling for help from citizen gardener-scientists (I have a feeling a lot of us fit the bill) who grow squash. Here's the long manifesto:

robdunnlab.com/projects/the-great-pumpkin-project/

And here's the specific call to action (it's addressed to school kids, but it's got all the details on how anyone can participate):
studentsdiscover.org/lesson/the-great-pumpkin-project/

I don't know if the disease is specific to pepos, moschata or maximas, or if it's more general...I may write to them to find out. But it sounds like it's right up our alley for next year's garden....

[mskrieger]

And apparently it's all species of cucurbita. The researcher just responded to my inquiry:
---
Thank you for reaching out, and I would be thrilled to have you participate!
Bacterial wilt disease caused by Erwinia tracheiphila is affecting all species of Cucurbita. It is also affecting Cucumis crops - cucumber especially (Cucumis sativus) and muskmelon (Cucumis melo).
We have seeds of all these species we are sending out, but we encourage gardeners to continue growing whatever varieties they have in their gardens.
We're interested in all cucurbit insect and microbial associates, and photos can be uploaded to the project page on www.inaturalist.org/projects/the-great-pumpkin-project
We're also interested in whether you grow any unusual varieties and save seeds - so would love to hear more about the melons you are breeding, and culinary uses as well.
I hope that's not too much. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help with setup, or getting this started. Thanks,
Lori