Erwinia carotovora pv. carotovora, a Pathogen of Kalanchoë blossfeldiana. Arthur W. Engelhard, IFAS, University of Florida, Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, 5007 60th Street East, Bradenton 34203. Raymond G. McGuire, and J. B. Jones, IFAS, University of Florida, Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, 5007 60th Street East, Bradenton 34203. Plant Dis. 70:575-577. Accepted for publication 19 December 1985. Copyright 1986 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-70-575.

A bacterial disease of Kalanchoë blossfeldiana that caused a wilt and soft rot of leaves and stems was present in Florida in commercial nurseries in 1983. The disease caused losses as high as 100% in certain plantings and in propagation. Disease was present in 18 cultivars, but severity varied considerably among cultivars. The pathogen was identified as Erwinia carotovora pv. carotovora. Typical symptoms were produced when the pathogen was inoculated into three cultivars of kalanchoe. The pathogen was pectolytic, gram-negative, a faculative anaerobe, and comparatively tolerant to erythromycin. It liquefied gelatin, was negative for phosphatase production, and did not produce reducing substances from sucrose or gas from glucose. Acid was produced only from lactose but not α-methyl glucoside or palatinose.