Bacterial Wilt on Vegetable Crops

Bacteria called Ralstonia solanacearum attack almost 200 plant species in 33 different plant families. This constitutes one of the largest known host ranges for any plant pathogenic bacterium. Although to Solanaceae (potato family) contains the greatest number of susceptible species, many other dicot and a few monocot plants are also susceptible. The common name for the diseases this organism causes varies with the host that is attacked. In tobacco, it is called bacterial wilt or Granville wilt (for Granville County, North Carolina where it was observed as early as 1880) and Moko disease in banana. It is sometimes called southern wilt or southern bacterial wilt (in the northern hemisphere). This bacterium is noted for diseases caused outdoors in land areas bounded by 45N and 45S latitudes where rainfall averages above 100 cm/year (39 in/year), the average growing season exceeds 6 months, the average winter temperatures are not below 10ºC (50ºF), the average summer temperatures are not below 21ºC (70ºF) and the average yearly temperature does not exceed 23ºC (72ºF) (3). It can be moved from such areas into the greenhouse industry in and on plants propagated in those regions and then sold to growers throughout the world. Although the primary location of survival in the environment is in crop and weed hosts, it can also survive in soil. It can be readily spread through the movement of contaminated soil and infected vegetatively propagated plants, in contaminated irrigation water, and on the surfaces of tools (cutting knives) and equipment used to work with the plants, and on soiled clothing.

For more information, please see this Penn State Factsheet.

Penn State Department of Plant Pathology 

Penn State Horticulture Department

For more information on this subject, Please visit the College of Agricultural Sciences Publications Web site.

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