Abstract:
By comparison with Kew South Wales and Rhodesian strains of Pseudomonas solanacearum, and a Canadian culture of Corynebacterium sepedonicum, it has been shown that the causal organism of bacterial wilt of potatoes in Victoria is a strain of Ps. Solanacearum, identified as variety asiaticum. This disease is a serious problem in the Koo-wee-rup and Gembrook areas. Many of the local isolates have no brown pigment, while others have a moderate degree of pigmentation, though much less than that of the Kew South Wales strains studied. Detailed symptoms of the disease are given; also the morphological, cultural, physiological, and pathogenic reactions compared with those of the other strains of Ps. Solanacearum studied. A serological study of these organisms will be presented in another paper.