BIOLOGY AND EPIDEMIOLOGY OF BACTERIAL WILT CAUSED BY PSEUDOMONAS-SOLANACEARUM

Bacterial wilt caused by Pseudomonas solanacearum is widely distributed in tropical, subtropical and some warm temperate regions of the world, and is a major constraint on production of many crop plants. Major sections of this review are on: phylogeny (particularly using molecular biology), properties, relationships and geographical distribution; host range; modes of dispersal and sources of inoculum (including root-to-root transmission, movement of soil and dissemination by farm implements, and insect transmission); some environmental interactions (temperature - the most important factor affecting the host-pathogen interaction as well as survival in soils, light intensity, soil moisture (preferably high), soil type, and synergism with nematodes); and control strategies, especially development of host-plant resistance, appropriate cropping systems, soil amendment, disease avoidance, integrated control, and biological control using antagonistic rhizobacteria and avirulent mutants. -P.J.Jarvis