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Etiology

Pseudomonas corrugate, a Pathogen of Tomato, Isolated from Symptomless Alfalfa Roots. F. L. Lukezic, Professor, Department of Plant Pathology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802; Phytopathology 69:27-31. Accepted for publication 14 August 1978. Copyright 1979 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-69-27.

Pseudomonas corrugata, the causal agent of a serious disease of greenhouse-grown tomato plants in England, was isolated from healthy roots of greenhouse-grown alfalfa plants in the USA. Inoculations of bacterial strains from both alfalfa and tomato into tomato stems induced symptoms similar to those originally described for the disease. Strains from both sources caused localized necrosis when injected into alfalfa stems and roots, rotted onion scales and produced necrotic lesions on lettuce leaves, but potato tuber tissue was not rotted. Attempts to isolate strains of the organism from field-grown alfalfa plants failed. Therefore, its role in root and crown diseases of alfalfa was not determined. This is the first report on the occurrence of P. corrugata in the USA.