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Background and aims Beginning in the last two decades of the 14th century, richly illuminated versions of the Tacuinum Sanitatis, the Latin translation of an 11th-century Arabic manuscript known as Taqwim al-Sihha bi al-Ashab al-Sitta, were produced in northern Italy. These illustrated manuscripts provide a window on late medieval life in that region by containing some 200 full-page illustrations, many of which vividly depict the harvest of vegetables, fruits, flowers, grains, aromatics and medicinal plants. Our objective was to search for and identify the images of taxa of Cucurbitaceae and Solanaceae. Methods We have located all reported illustrated Tacuinum Sanitatis and similar or related manuscripts, searched through printed or electronic reproductions of them, categorized six of them that display full-page illustrations as archetypic, and established the identity of the Cucurbitaceae and Solanaceae appearing in these six manuscripts. Key results and conclusions Of the Cucurbitaceae, Cucumis sativus (short-fruited cucumbers), Cucumis melo (including round as well as elongate melons), Citrullus lanatus (both sweet watermelons and citrons), and Lagenaria siceraria (including bottle-shaped as well as long gourds), are illustrated. Of the Solanaceae, Solanum melongena (egg-shaped purple aubergines) and Mandragora sp. (mandrake) are illustrated. These depictions include some of the earliest known images of cucumber, casaba melon (Cucumis melo Inodorous Group) and aubergine, each of which closely resembles an extant cultivar-group or market type. Overall, the botanically most accurate images are in the version of the Tacuinum located in the Osterreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna, cod. ser. n. 2644. Similarities and differences in botanical accuracy among the images of Cucurbitaceae and Solanaceae in the six archetypal Tacuinum manuscripts suggest to us that another illustrated Tacuinum, now lost, may have antedated and served as a model or inspiration for the six surviving archetypic manuscripts.

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Powdery mildew [Podosphaera xanthii (Castagne) Braun & Shishkoff (syn. Sphaerotheca fuliginea auct. p.p.)] is now a common disease on watermelon [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai] in the United States. In this study, the entire available U.S. Plant Introduction collection of Citrullus Schrad. ex Eckl. & Zeyh. species was evaluated for resistance to P. xanthii race 1W. The collection consists of four Citrullus species and one Praecitrullus Pangalo species [C. lanatus var. citroides (L.H. Bailey) Mansf., C. colocynthis (L.) Schrad., C. rehmii De Winter, and P. fistulosus (Stocks) Pangalo]. Wild-type accessions tended to be more resistant more often than the cultivated species, C. lanatus var. lanatus. None were immune, eight of the 1573 accessions exhibited high levels of resistance, and another 86 demonstrated intermediate resistance. Stem and leaf disease severity were weakly correlated (r 2 = 0.64, P = 0.001). The majority of accessions having resistance were collected in Zimbabwe. Resistance was found in four species.

PI 525088-PMR is a watermelon (Citrullus lanatus var. lanatus) line having resistance to melon race one powdery mildew (PM) Podosphaera xanthii (syn. Sphaerotheca fuliginea auct. p.p.). The line is derived from the U.S. Plant Introduction (PI) 525088 (Citrullus lanatus var. lanatus). PI 525088PMR does not have desirable fruit quality with fruit flesh color being white to light pink and an average Brix value of 6. However, it could be a useful parent for introducing race one powdery mildew (P. xanthii) resistance into adapted watermelon cultivars.

Malgré l'importance économique de l'agriculture familiale au Nordeste du Brésil, les réseaux de collecte, de transformation et de commercialisation où elle s'insère sont mal connus. Pendant cette mission, un diagnostic des circuits locaux de commercialisation a été réalisé pour deux produits dont la structure de production est essentiellement familiale : le lait à Nossa Senhora da Gloria (Sergipe) et la pastèque dans les périmètres irrigués de Petrolina (Pernambouc). Les résultats montrent l'organisation complexe des réseaux de commercialisation. Ils permettent de formuler une proposition méthodologique pour le diagnostic rapide des systèmes de commercialisation dans le Nordeste

Parthenogenetic haploid embryos of `Crimson Sweet', `Halep Karasi', `Sugar Baby' and `Panonia F1' watermelon [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai] were obtained after pollination with γ-irradiated (200 or 300 Gy) pollen. Some globular and heart-shaped embryos were observed in fruit harvested 2 to 5 weeks after pollination. The number of embryos per 100 seeds was highest for `Halep Karasi'. After in vitro culture, 17 haploid plants were obtained and doubled haploid lines were generated after chromosome doubling using colchicine.

En Guadeloupe, le virus 1 de la mosaïque de la pastèque, Papaya Ringspot Virus-Watermelon (PRSV-W)= Watermelon Mosaic Virus 1 (WMV-1), est très répandu dans les cultures de courgette où il provoque des symptômes de mosaïque avec cloques et des déformations filiformes très marquées sur le feuillage et également des déformations de fruits. Depuis 1982, on a constaté qu’un autre faciès maladif était aussi épidémique dans les champs de courgette. Il se distingue de celui de PRSV-W par une mosaïque donnant un aspect tigré au feuillage et l’absence de déformation filiforme. L’isolat (Q10) provenant de l’une des plantes infectées par la souche « Tigré » a été étudié. Le virus est transmissible par inoculation mécanique. Il est transmis par puceron sur le mode non persistant mais à un taux différent de celui observé pour le PRSV-W. Sa gamme d’hôtes est analogue à celle du PRSV-W. Elle est limitée à la famille des Cucurbitacées et en particulier, les génotypes de Cucumis melo, C. metuliferus, Cucurbita ecuaderensis et C. foetidissima résistants au PRSV-W sont aussi résistants à l’isolat Q10. Les particules virales sont flexueuses. L’infection induit dans le cytoplasme la formation d’inclusions amorphes et d’inclusions cylindriques se classant dans la subdivision I. Des tests sérologiques d’immunodiffusion en présence de dodécyl-sulfate de sodium et des tests en ISEM (Immunosorbent Electron Microscopy) ont montré que l’isolat Q10 ne réagissait avec aucun des sérums dont nous disposions préparés contre les virus suivants : PRSV-W, Watermelon Mosaic Virus 2 (WMV-2), Watermelon Mosaic Virus « Morocco » (WMV-M), Zucchini Yellow Mosaic Virus (ZYMV), Zucchini Yellow Fleck Virus (ZYFV). Inversement, PRSV-W, WMV2 et ZYMV n’ont pas réagi avec le sérum préparé spécifiquement contre l’isolat Q10. L’isolat Q10 a des propriétés biologiques proches de celles du PRSV-W ; il s’en distingue par son taux de transmission par puceron, sa symptomatologie sur certains hôtes et par ses propriétés sérologiques. Une étude complémentaire permettra d’établir si cet isolat doit être considéré comme un sérotype du PRSV-W ou comme un virus à part entière., In Guadeloupe, a Caribbean island, the watermelon strain of papaya ringspot virus (PRSV-W = watermelon mosaic virus 1, WMV-1) is commonly encountered in squash fields. It induces a severe mosaic with blistering and filiformism on squash leaves, and a deformation of fruits. Since 1982, a new disease has been found epidemically in squash fields, the symptoms being leaf discoloration according to a striped ("Tigre") pattern and limited filiformism. An isolate (Q10), collected from a squash showing the "Tigre" symptom, was studied. The virus was transmitted mechanically and also transmitted by aphids in the non-persistent manner and less efficiently than PRSV-W. Its host range was similar to that of PRSV-W. It was restricted to the Cucurbit family, and genotypes of Cucumis melo, C. metuliferus, Cucurbita ecuadorensis and C. foetidissima resistant to PRSV-W were also resistant to isolate Q10. Virus particles were filamentous. Infection induced in the cytoplasm the formation of amorphous and cylindrical type I inclusions. Sodium dodecyl sulfateimmunodiffusion and ISEM (Immunosorbent Electron Microscopy) tests showed that isolate Q10 did not react with sera prepared against the following viruses : PRSV, watermelon mosaic virus 2 (WMV-2) watermelon mosaic virus "Morocco" (WMV-M), zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV), zucchini yellow fleck virus (ZYFV). Conversely, PRSV-W, WMV-2 ans ZYMV did not react with the serum specifically prepared against isolate Q10. Some biological properties of isolate Q10 and PRSV-W were similar but the viruses could be distinguished by their aphid transmission rate, symptoms on some hosts and serological properties. Further studies will show whether this isolate should be considered as a new serotype of PRSV or as a new virus.