VIEW ARTICLE

Ecology and Epidemiology

Infectivity and Survival of Soft-Rot Bacteria in Chinese Cabbage. T. W. Mew, The Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center, P. O. Box 42, Shanhua, Tainan (741), Taiwan, Republic of China; W. C. Ho(2), and L. Chu(3). (2)(3)The Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center, P. O. Box 42, Shanhua, Tainan (741), Taiwan, Republic of China. Phytopathology 66:1325-1327. Accepted for publication 11 February 1976. Copyright © 1976 The American Phytopathological Society, 3340 Pilot Knob Road, St. Paul, MN 55121. All rights reserved.. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-66-1325.

The population of Erwinia carotovora var. carotovora in inoculated plant tissues of Chinese cabbage (Brassica pekinensis) was influenced by the presence of other microorganisms. The infection potential of the soft-rot bacterium was correlated with the relative proportion of soft-rot bacteria and other bacterial cells instead of the total soft-rot bacteria population level in the inoculum dosage. The rotting capacity of E. carotovora var. carotovora isolates was high, but decreased when the inoculum included other bacteria. Erwinia carotovora var. carotovora was not detected in soil samples from fields where Chinese cabbage had not been cultivated or while plants were in the seedling stage following first planting. It was barely detectable in a field where there had been one previous cabbage crop.