Bacterial fruit blotch

Bacterial fruit blotch (BFB) is a disease of watermelon and other cucurbit crops caused by bacterium Acidovorax avenae subsp. citrulli. The disease is seed borne and is first noticed as small water-soaked lesions on seedlings. Bacterial fruit blotch can cause crop losses if allowed to progress in fields. Prevention is possible only by planting seeds which have been tested for the causal organism using a grow out method.