Comparison of Tumorigenic Strains of Erwinia herbicola Isolated from Table Beet with E. h. gypsophilae. T. J. Burr, Associate Professor, Department of Plant Pathology, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Cornell University, Geneva 14456. B. H. Katz, G. S. Abawi, and D. C. Crosier. Former Research Technician, Professor, and Research Technician, Department of Plant Pathology, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Cornell University, Geneva 14456. Plant Dis. 75:855-858. Accepted for publication 15 March 1991. This article is in the public domain and not copyrightable. It may be freely reprinted with customary crediting of the source. The American Phytopathological Society, 1991. DOI: 10.1094/PD-75-0855.

Tumorigenic strains of Erwinia herbicola were isolated from tumors on table beets (Beta vulgaris) collected from four commercial fields near Geneva, New York, in 1988. Strains were compared with E. h. gypsophilae, a saprophytic strain of E. herbicola (EH112Y), and strain C58 of Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Only strains of E. herbicola from beet were tumorigenic on beet slices and on roots of beet seedlings. These strains also infected stems of Gypsophila paniculata, causing spherical, compact tumors that contrasted with the elongate, necrotic tumors caused by E. h. gypsophilae. Strains of E. herbicola from beet and E. h. gypsophilae did not cause tumors on Nicotiana glauca. Strain C58 of A. tumefaciens was tumorigenic on roots of beet seedlings and stems of N. glauca but not on beet slices.