Occurrence of Pseudomonas viridiflava in tomato plants in Uberlândia, Minas Gerais

Abstract

The bacterium Pseudomonas viridiflava (Burkholder) Dowson is the causal agent of leaf bacterial speck (8) and pith necrosis (2, 10) in tomato plants ( Solanum lycopersicum L.). In 1973, this species was reported by Wilkie et al. (22) causing pith necrosis and leaf speck symptoms and was subsequently associated with symptoms in the fruits (6). Pseudomonas viridiflava was described causing leaf bacterial speck on tomato in Greece (5) and the United States (8), as well as pith necrosis in Greece (2, 12), Argentina (1), Portugal (18), Turkey (3, 21), Macedonia (15) and Serbia (17). In Brazil, symptoms of bacterial speck were reported in Bahia and São Paulo States (13), while pith necrosis was found in Santa Catarina State (16). In 2013, in