VIEW ARTICLE

Ecology and Epidemiology

Influence of Developmental Stage on Susceptibility of Tomato Fruit to Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato. S. Getz, Graduate research assistant, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Michigan State University, East Lansing 48824; C. T. Stephens(2), and D. W. Fulbright(3). (2)(3)Assistant professors, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Michigan State University, East Lansing 48824. Phytopathology 73:36-38. Accepted for publication 25 May 1982. Copyright 1983 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-73-36.

Tomato flower buds, flowers, and fruit were inoculated with Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (= P. tomato) at various developmental stages in greenhouse and field studies. In greenhouse studies, inoculation at the open corolla stage resulted in a significant decrease in marketable yield compared to the uninoculated control. Lesions did not develop on fruit when flower buds were inoculated prior to anthesis. Susceptibility of green fruit decreased as diameter at the time of inoculation increased. Lesions did not develop on inoculated pink or red fruit. In field studies, lesions did not develop on fruit inoculated when >3 cm in diameter. These results indicate that uninjured tomato fruit are most susceptible to infection by P. syringae pv. tomato in the period following anthesis and before the fruit reach 3 cm in diameter.