Desarrollo de Podosphaera xanthii (Castagne) U. Braun & Shishkoff en el cultivo de calabaza (Cucurbita pepo L.) en Tehuacán, México.

The aim of the work was to evaluate the development of Podosphaera xanthii (Castagne) U. Braun & Shishkoff in pumpkin crop during the years 2018 - 2019. The crop (Cucurbita pepo L.) (hybrid pumpkin material, Gray Zucchini) was established on a surface of 1 500 m2 where 25 plants were randomly selected, and three leaves per plant were labeled, in which incidence and severity were evaluated weekly using a degree scale. Weather variables were recorded. These results indicate that P. xanthii is present at 14 days after transplantation in the sowing from February to April; while from May to July, it is present after seven days, coinciding with the rainy season, conditions that indirectly favor the increase of relative humidity (23-63 %), causing the progress of the disease. The development of the disease was similar in both years (2018-2019), but not between the two sowing dates, with the first symptoms appearing seven days earlier, and with a severity of 0-9 %, at the second sowing time (May-July). The comparison of major components showed a relationship of temperature with the incidence and severity of the pathogen, but not with rainfall, since this factor does not condition the emergence of the disease. As an important result for Tehuacán region, it is suggested the month of February as the most appropriate date for planting the crop, with a low incidence and severity of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]