VIEW ARTICLE

Ecology and Epidemiology

Bacterial Stem Rot of Greenhouse Tomato: Etiology, Spatial Distribution, and the Effect of High Humidity. B. N. Dhanvantari, Agriculture Canada, Research Station, Harrow, Ontario N0R 1G0; V. A. Dirks, Agriculture Canada, Research Station, Harrow, Ontario N0R 1G0. Phytopathology 77:1457-1463. Accepted for publication 11 May 1987. Copyright 1987 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-77-1457.

An outbreak of stem rot of the tomato cultivar CR-6 in some Essex County greenhouses in Ontario was caused by Erwinia carotovora ssp. carotovora. The disease occurred about the time of the first fruit harvest, or later, in the spring crop. Disease incidence was greater in rows under the roof-gutters than elsewhere in the greenhouse. The results of two-directional doublet, runs, and chain analyses of a 9,600-plant stand showed a nonrandom distribution of diseased plants, with marked clumping along the rows. Stem rot and pith disintegration developed more intensively in the affected plants under high humidity.