NEW SYMPTOMS OF TOMATO SOFT ROT DISEASES IN TURKEY

In the winter and early spring of 2002, soft rotted tomato plants and fruits were observed in several commercial plastic-covered greenhouses in Mersin and Antakya, located in the eastern Mediterranean region of Turkey. The disease incidence was approximately 20-25% and 80-90% in greenhouses of Mersin and Antakya, respectively. Symptoms of the disease were observed on tomato stem, pith and fruits. Two different symptoms on stem were observed. One of them (type 1) was characterized by wilting of the whole plant, water-soaking areas on the stem, hollowing of the pith, browning of the vascular tissue and maceration in stem and fruits. The other one (type 2) was characterized by brown-black spots limited on the pruning sites of the stem and maceration in fruits, but not in stem. Non-fluorescent, white-cream-colored bacteria and fluorescent, yellow-colored, mucoid bacteria were consistently isolated on the media from symptom type 1 and type 2, respectively. Ten selected representative bacterial strains from each symptom group were identified and characterized on the basis of morphological, physiological, biochemical, pathogenicity tests, and fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) analysis. Strains isolated from symptom type 1 were identified as Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora and E. chrysanthemi. Strains isolated from symptom type 2 were identified as Pseudomonas viridiflava. This is the first report of new symptoms on tomato fruits of soft rot disease caused by P. viridiflava, E. c. subsp. carotovora and E. chrysanthemi in Turkey.