Pantoea stewartii Causing Stewart's Wilt on Dracaena sanderiana in Korea

Abstract

In April 2010, a severe occurrence of Stewart's wilt on Dracaena sanderiana plants was observed in greenhouses in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, with an incidence of 35-50%. Being imported plants, little was known about the pathogens associated with D.sanderiana. Symptoms included chlorosis, wilting and leaf blight on the leaf surfaces. Physiological analysis, pathogenicity tests, sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene revealed that the pathogen was the bacterium Pantoea stewartii. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on bacterial wilt caused by P.stewartii on D.sanderiana.