Soft-rot erwinias and stem rots in potatoes

Abstract

Isolates of Erwinia carotovora pv. atroseptica, E. carotovora pv. carotovora and E. chrysanthemi from Western Australia, all produce stem rots in potato when provided with their specific environmental requirements. The pathogenicity of E. chrysanthemi was highly variable. A high inoculum level (3x 107 colony forming units/ml) was required for rapid rotting by E. chrysanthemi pv. zeae.