Bacterial root bark necrosis and wilt of pomegranate, hereto a new disease

Pomegranate is an important fruit crop grown in agro-climatic condition ranging from tropical to temperate1 and in various countries like Israel, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt, India and different counties of USA. The current total annual world production of pomegranate is estimated to be 1.5 million tonnes.2 According to an estimate, more than 0.119 million tonnes pomegranate fruit was exported from Iran, India, Tunisia, U.S.A, Spain, etc to different countries.2 The cultivation of pomegranate has expanded to five continents with India, Iran, China, Turkey, U.S.A, Spain, South Africa, Peru, Chile and Argentina as major players in production. Since 2013, India has been the world’s largest pomegranate producer and one of the largest exporters of fresh and processed pomegranate with the production of 745,000 tonnes since 2013. Iran is second followed by China. India ranks first in the world with respect to pomegranate area (0.125 million hectares) and production (1.14 million tonnes). In India it is grown under the arid dry climate of Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh states which occupy a major area in this fruit crop for India’s National Horticultural Mission, uplifting the economic status of the fruit crop growing farmers. Maharashtra contributes more than 75% of the total area alone followed by Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.