Ralstonia solanacearum
bacterial wilt
Bacillus musae, Bacillus musarum, Bacillus nicotianae, Bacillus sesami, Bacillus solanacearum, Bacterium solanacearum, Bacterium solanacearum var. asiatica, Bacterium solanacearum var. asiaticum, Burkholderia solanacearum, Chromobacterium nicotianae, Erwinia nicotianae,
Erwinia solanacearum, Phytobacterium solanacearum, Phytomonas ricini, Phytomonas solanacearum, Phytomonas solanacearum var. asiatica, Pseudomonas batatae, Pseudomonas ricini,
Pseudomonas solanacearum, Pseudomonas solanacearum var. asiatica, Pseudomonas tectonae,
Xanthomonas solanacearum, Xanthomonas solanacearum var. asiatica
Worldwide
AL, AR, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, IL, IN, LA, MI, NH, NJ, NY, NC, PA, SC, SD, VA, WI
2025-08-13
bacterium
China
Over 250 species, particularly tropical and subtropical crops, are susceptible to races of the R. solanacearum species complex, with tomato, tobacco, aubergine, potato, banana, plantain, and Heliconia being the most significant worldwide, while other hosts include Anthurium spp., groundnut, Capsicum annuum, cotton, rubber, sweet potato, cassava, castor bean, and ginger.
RALSSL
Ralstonia solanacearum spreads mainly through infected vegetative planting material, contaminated soil or water, root contact, mechanical injury, and sometimes insect vectors, with wild hosts serving as reservoirs that can contaminate irrigation sources. True seed infection is rare and confirmed in peanut, while seed contamination in other crops such as tomato, pepper, eggplant, and soybean has been reported but not substantiated, making seed a minor pathway compared with other transmission routes.
12 Known Hosts
Beta vulgaris
table beet, swiss chard
No
CABI CPC
Table beet and swiss chard are not considered important hosts of the pathogen. Seed is not known to be a pathway.
2025-08-14 07:55:05
Crop Protection Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CAB International. www.cabi.org/cpc.
Capsicum annuum
pepper
No
RALSSL-6, CABI CPC, RALSSL-8, EPPO, RALSSL-19
Pepper is not considered to be an important host of the pathogen. Only artificially inoculated seeds in research were shown to induce disease symptoms. There is no evidence that seed is a pathway in nature.
2025-08-14 08:51:46
Moffett ML, Wood BA, Hayward AC, 1981. Seed and soil: sources of inoculum for the colonisation of the foliage of solanaceous hosts by Pseudomonas solanacearum. Annals of Applied Biology, 98:403-411
Crop Protection Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CAB International. www.cabi.org/cpc.
Hudelson, B. 2020. Ralstonia Wilt. https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/ralstonia-wilt/
OEPP/EPPO Global Database - European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization
Devi LR, Menon MR, 1980. Transmission of Pseudomonas solanacearum through tomato seeds. Agricultural Research Journal of Kerala, 18:120-122
Citrullus lanatus
watermelon
No
CABI CPC
Watermelon is not considered an important host of the pathogen. Seed is not known to be a pathway.
2025-08-14 08:55:43
Crop Protection Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CAB International. www.cabi.org/cpc.
Cucumis melo
melon
No
CABI CPC, RALSSL-12
Melon is not considered an important host of the pathogen. Seed is not known to be a pathway.
2025-08-14 08:57:40
Cucumis sativus
cucumber
No
CABI CPC
Cucumber is not considered an important host of the pathogen. Seed is not known to be a pathway.
2025-08-14 15:12:47
Crop Protection Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CAB International. www.cabi.org/cpc.
Cucurbita spp.
squash, pumpkin, gourd
No
CABI CPC, RALSSL-12
Squash, pumpkin and gourd are not considered an important hosts of the pathogen. Seed is not known to be a pathway.
2025-08-14 08:57:56
Glycine max
soybean
No
CABI CPC, RALSSL-9, RALSSL-10, RALSSL-12
Though references indicating that seed may be a pathway were found, these references only indicated that the pathogen was found on the seed in the laboratory. No evidence of seed transmission of this pathogen on this crop in nature was found.
Yes
Blotter
Blotter incubation was used in this research. This method has not been standardized or validated.
2025-08-14 15:14:43
Crop Protection Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CAB International. www.cabi.org/cpc.
Muras, VA. 1963. On Bacterial Wilt of Soyabeans in Ukraine. Microbiology Journal 25:42-49 (https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/AD0642025.pdf)
Nikitina KV and Korsakov NI, 1978. Bacterial diseases of soybean in the Soviet Far East and in southern regions of the USSR: search for sources of resistance to them. Trudy po Prikladnoi Botanike, Genetike i Selektsii, 62:13-18
EFSA Panel on Plant Health, 2019. Pest categorisation of the Ralstonia solanacearum species complex. European Food Safety Authority Journal, 17(2), 5618, 28pp.
Gossypium spp.
cotton
No
CABI CPC, RALSSL-12
Cotton is not considered an important host of the pathogen. Seed is not known to be a pathway.
2025-08-14 08:58:19
Impatiens spp.
impatiens
No
CABI CPC, RALSSL-8, RALSSL-12
No references found indicating seed is a pathway.
2025-08-14 08:58:45
Crop Protection Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CAB International. www.cabi.org/cpc.
Hudelson, B. 2020. Ralstonia Wilt. https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/ralstonia-wilt/
EFSA Panel on Plant Health, 2019. Pest categorisation of the Ralstonia solanacearum species complex. European Food Safety Authority Journal, 17(2), 5618, 28pp.
Pelargonium spp.
geranium
No
CABI CPC, RALSSL-8, RALSSL-12
No references found indicating seed is a pathway.
2025-08-14 08:59:03
Crop Protection Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CAB International. www.cabi.org/cpc.
Hudelson, B. 2020. Ralstonia Wilt. https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/ralstonia-wilt/
EFSA Panel on Plant Health, 2019. Pest categorisation of the Ralstonia solanacearum species complex. European Food Safety Authority Journal, 17(2), 5618, 28pp.
Solanum lycopersicum
tomato
uncertain
RALSSL-3, RALSSL-4, RALSSL-5, RALSSL-6, RALSSL-7, RALSSL-8, RALSSL-11
Seed transmission of Ralstonia solanacearum remains uncertain, as some studies have isolated the bacterium from naturally or artificially contaminated seeds, while others found no contamination. Experiments often used fruit not produced under seed-crop conditions. Soil, plant debris, and water are considered the primary pathways for spread, with no clear evidence that seed plays a role under natural seed production systems.
Yes
Agar, PCR, RT-PCR
Colonies of Ralstonia solanacearum from seeds are first grown on Nutrient Agar, then transferred to TTC medium for virulence testing, with identification also possible using molecular (PCR, real-time PCR, RAPD) and serological assays.
CABI CPC, RALSSL-15, RALSSL-17
biological, cultural
Control relies on certified disease-free seed, resistant varieties, early pathogen detection, quarantining infected fields, crop rotation, weed and nematode control, avoiding surface water for irrigation.
CABI CPC, RALSSL-11
2025-08-14 08:09:03
Chatterjee, B., Chakraborty, M., Habib, A.A. and Samaddar, K.R., 1994. Survival of Pseudomonas solanacearum biovar 3 on seeds of eggplant. Bacterial Wilt Newsletter, (11).
Singh R, 1994. Seed transmission studies with Pseudomonas solanacearum in tomato and eggplant. ACIAR Bacterial Wilt Newsletter, 11:12-13.
Devi LR, Menon MR, 1980. Transmission of Pseudomonas solanacearum through tomato seeds. Agricultural Research Journal of Kerala, 18:120-122
Moffett ML, Wood BA, Hayward AC, 1981. Seed and soil: sources of inoculum for the colonisation of the foliage of solanaceous hosts by Pseudomonas solanacearum. Annals of Applied Biology, 98:403-411
Prior P, Grimault V and Schmit J. 1994. Resistance to Bacterial Wilt (Pseudomonas solanacearum) in Tomato: Present Status and Prospects. In, Baterial Wilt: The Disease and its Causative Agent, Psuedomonas solanacerarum. CAB International, Wallingford, UK
Hudelson, B. 2020. Ralstonia Wilt. https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/ralstonia-wilt/
Janse JD (1996) Potato brown rot in western Europe – history, present occurrence and some remarks on possible origin, epidemiology and control strategies. EPPO Bulletin 26, 679-695.
Crop Protection Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CAB International. www.cabi.org/cpc.
Dey, P., Hossain, I. and Hossain, M.D., 2017. Isolation and identification of seed borne Ralstonia solanacearum from tomato and brinjal in Bangladesh. Journal of Agriculture and Veterinary Science, 10(11), pp.32-39.
Rajeshwari, N., Shylaja, M.D., Krishnappa, M., Shetty, H.S., Mortensen, C.N. and Mathur, S.B., 1998. Development of ELISA for the detection of Ralstonia solanacearum in tomato: its application in seed health testing. World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology, 14, pp.697-704.
Solanum melongena
eggplant
Yes
RALSSL-3, RALSSL-4, CABI CPC, RALSSL-12, RALSSL-14, RALSSL-18
Recent research has shown that seed can be a pathway in eggplant. Though evidence of a seed pathway in seed produced in known seed production systems has not been found.
Yes
Biochemical, blotter, serological and molecular methods
These methods have been described for other hosts and specific tests for eggplant have not been developed. These methods have not be standardized or validated for eggplant.
Seed disinfection has been described for other hosts.
2025-08-14 15:17:19
Chatterjee, B., Chakraborty, M., Habib, A.A. and Samaddar, K.R., 1994. Survival of Pseudomonas solanacearum biovar 3 on seeds of eggplant. Bacterial Wilt Newsletter, (11).
Singh R, 1994. Seed transmission studies with Pseudomonas solanacearum in tomato and eggplant. ACIAR Bacterial Wilt Newsletter, 11:12-13.
Crop Protection Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CAB International. www.cabi.org/cpc.
EFSA Panel on Plant Health, 2019. Pest categorisation of the Ralstonia solanacearum species complex. European Food Safety Authority Journal, 17(2), 5618, 28pp.
Sharma, D.K. and Agrawal, K., 2010. Incidence and histopathology of Ralstonia solanacearum in tomato seeds. Journal of Mycology and Plant Pathology, 40(1), pp.115-119.
Abd Alamer, I. S., Tomah, A. A., Li, B., and Zhang, J. Z. (2020). Isolation, identification and characterization of rhizobacteria strains for biological control of bacterial wilt (Ralstonia solanacearum) of eggplant in China. Agriculture 10 (2), 37.
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