In the past 15 years, the spread of whitefly-transmitted viruses like cucurbit leaf crumple virus (CuLCrV), cucurbit yellow stunting disorder virus (CYSDV), and squash vein yellowing virus (SqVYV) has led to significant losses for cucurbit growers across the southeastern and southwestern U.S. To address this, surveys of watermelon and other cucurbit crops in the Central Gulf Coast region began in 2020, despite challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic, with plans to continue sampling into 2022.
