Pacific Pests, Pathogens, Weeds & Pesticides - Online edition

Pacific Pests, Pathogens, Weeds & Pesticides

Tomato bacterial spot (081)

Click/tap on images to enlarge

Photo 1. Bacterial leaf spot, Xanthomonas vesicatoria, at an early stage of development.

Photo 2. Oval spots on the leaf stalks, bacterial leaf spot, Xanthomonas vesicatoria.

Photo 3. Spots on the fruit, bacterial leaf spot, Xanthomonas vesicatoria.

Summary

  • Worldwide distribution. In tropical and temperate countries. On tomato, capsicum, chillies and  weeds in the potato family. An important disease.
  • Spots are numerous, small (3 mm), sunken on upper surface, slightly raised below, merging at leaf tips and margins. Leaves turn yellow and fall. Spots also on leaf stalks and stems. Fruits infected via wounds.
  • Spreads by seed, rain splash, handling wet plants.
  • Cultural control: 2-3-year rotation; weed, resistant varieties (capsicum); healthy seed (hot water 50°C 25 mins.) and seedlings; trickle irrigation; mulch; weed; collect and burn trash after harvest.
  • Chemical control: copper or mancozeb at 7-10 day intervals.

Common Name

Bacterial spot of tomato and pepper, bacterial scab, black spot

Scientific Name

Xanthomonas vesicatoria. Previously, Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria. Several strains are recognised, infecting tomato, pepper or both.

AUTHORS Helen Tsatsia & Grahame Jackson
Information CABI (2014) Xanthomonas vesicatoria (bacterial spot of tomato and pepper). Crop Protection Compendium (https://www.cabi.org/cpc/datasheet/56981); and from EPPO (2021) Xanthomonas vesicatoria  (XANTVE). EPPO Global Database (https://gd.eppo.int/taxon/XANTVE); and from (with Photo 3) Diseases of vegetable crops in Australia (2010). Editors, Denis Persley, et al. CSIRO Publishing. 1An alternative treatment is to soak seed in 1.3% solution of sodium hypochlorite for 1 min, then rinse and dry.

Produced with support from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research under project PC/2010/090: Strengthening integrated crop management research in the Pacific Islands in support of sustainable intensification of high-value crop production, implemented by the University of Queensland and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community.

Copyright © 2023. All rights reserved.
Web edition hosted at https://apps.lucidcentral.org/pppw