cepacta. pecunotyiic bacteria.

and total bacteria from sorls, irrigation water, onion foliage and onion bulbs in Georgia, U.S.A. Proc. l nt. Conf. Plant Pathog. Bact., 8th. (In press.) Gitaitis, R. D., Sumner, D., Smittle, D., Gay, D., Maw. B., Hung, Y .. and Tollner, B. 1992. A semiselective agar medium for identification and isolation of Pseudomonas viridiflava. causal agent of bacterial blight of onion. Pages 23-25 in: Proc. Natl. Onion Res. Conf. Gitaitis, R. D., Sumner, D., Srniule, D., Maw, B., Gay, D., Tollner, B., and Hung, Y. 1992. Epidemiology of bacterial streak and rot of onion, caused by Pseudomonas viridiflava. (Abstr.) Phytopathology 82: 1076.

Slippery Skin
Slippery skin of onions was first described from the United States in 1899 and since has been reported in Australia, the United Kingdom, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Hungary, Spain, Bulgaria, and the former Soviet Union.

Symptoms
In the early stages of the disease, the affected bulb may not show any external symptoms except softening of the neck tissue. If the bulb is cut longitudinally, one or two inner fleshy scales that are soft and have a cooked or water-soaked appearance are revealed. The rot progresses from the top of the infected scales downward without spreading across to adjacent scales. The bacterium can infect other scales, and eventually the whole internal tissue may rot (Plate 67). In advanced stages, the affected tissue may dry out, and the bu lb may shrivel. The disease is referred to as slippery skin because the center core of the affected bulb may slip out the top when the base of the bulb is pressed.

(Prepared

by R. D. Gitaitis)

Soft Rot
Soft rot is common in many vegetables, especially during storage or transit. U nder certain conditions, it can cause significant losses in storage onions. Occasionally, it may develop in the field after heavy rains before harvest. The pathogen is widespread in soil and irrigation water.

Causal Organism
The bacterium that causes slippery skin is Pseudomonas gladioli pv. alliicola (Burkholder) Young et al. It is a grarnnegative, nonfluorescent rod that does not form spores. It contains intracellular inclusions of poly-,B-hydroxybutyrate. It is polarly flagellated, oxidase positive, and arginine dihydrolase negative. It hydrolyzes gelatin but not starch and does not produce levan from sucrose.

Symptoms
The affected fleshy scale tissues are water-soaked (Plate 63) and pale yellow to light brown (Plate 64) and become soft as the rot progresses. The whole interior of the bulb may break down, and a watery, foul-smelling viscous liquid may ooze from the neck if the affected bulb is squeezed. Foliage symptoms appear as a wilt and whitening of leaves and plants (Plates 65 and 66).

Disease Cycle and Epidemiology

The bacterium is primarily a wound pathogen and infects leaves and maturing bulbs in the field or bulbs after harvest. Young, growing leaves are only slightly susceptible to the bacterium. Infection probably occurs just before or at harvest time. The disease is usually more severe if tops are damaged by high winds or hail and subjected to wet or rainy conditions prior to harvest. Mature bulbs are very susceptible and may rot completely within 10 days at room temperature.

Causal Organism
Soft rot is caused by Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora (Jones) Bergey et al. The bacterial cells are rod shaped, gram negative, and nonpigmented and have peritrichous flagella. The organism is strongly pectolytic, facultatively anaerobic, catalase positive, and oxidase negative. It hydrolyzes gelatin and does not produce indole, phosphatase, or lecithinase.

Control Disease Cycle and Epidemiology

The primary sources of inoculum are contaminated soil and crop residues. Splashing rain, irrigation water, and insects spread the pathogen. The bacterium gains entry into the bulb through the neck tissue of maturing plants; mechanical injuries; or damaged areas caused by the onion maggot, Delia antiqua (Meigen), storms, or other diseases. The bacterium can persist in the intestinal tract of onion maggot larvae and adult flies, which can spread the pathogen from onion to onion. Bulbs with mechanical injuries, bruises, or sunscald are particularly susceptible to soft rot, especially if they are he Id under warm (optimum 20-30C) and humid conditions. Infection continues if the temperature during storage or transit is above 3 C. Onions should be harvested at proper maturity as soon as tops lodge. Preventing injury, promptly drying bulbs after topping, and storing bulbs at 0-2 will help reduce the disease.

Selected References Burkholder, W. H. 1942. Three bacterial plant pathogens: Phytomonas caryophy/li sp. n., Phytomonas a/liico/a sp. n., and Phytomonas manihotis (Arthaud-Berthet et Bondar) Viegas. Phytopathology 32:141-149. Roberts, P. 1973. A soft rot of imported onions caused by Pseudomonas a/liico/a (Burkh.) Starr & Burkh. Plant Pathol. 22:98. Sherf, A. F., and MacNab, A. A. 1986. Vegetable Diseases and Their Control. 2nd ed. John Wiley & Sons, New York. Tesoriero, L. A., Fahy, P. c., and Gunn, L. V. 1982. First record of a bacterial rot of onion in Australia caused by Pseudomonas g/adio/i pv. alliico/a and assoeiation with internal browning eaused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Australas. Plant Pathol. 11:56-57.

Control
Onion tops should be allowed to mature before harvest. Bruising of bulbs during harvest and handling should be avoided. Onions should be sto red only after they have been well dried. Storage at 0 and less than 70% relative humidity with good ventilation prevents condensation of moisture on the surface of bulbs.

(Prepared

by S. K. Mohan)

Sour Skin
Sour skin, first described in 1950, has been reported from onion-growing areas all over the world. Losses often appear in sto red onions, but infection usuaIly begins in the field. The disease can be serious in individual fields, with yield losses of 5-50%. Sour skin is primarily a disease of onions, but other A//ium species are reported to be hosts.

Selected References Crete, R., Tartier, L., and Devaus, A. 1981. Diseases of onions in Canada. Inf. Serv. Agrie. Can. Publ. 1716E. Sherf, A. F., and MaeNab, A. A. 1986. Vegetable Diseases and Their Control. 2nd ed. John Wiley & Sons, New York.

(Prepared

by S. K. Mohan)

32

Symptoms
Prirnary symptoms on onions include a slimy (but initially firm). pale yellow to light brown decay (Plate 68) and breakdown of one or a few inner bulb scales. Adjacent outer scales and the center of the bu lb may remain firmo Externally, bulbs appear sound, but the neck region may soften after leaves have collapsed. In advanced stages, healthy scales can slip off during handling. Young leaves sometimes die back, starting at the tips.

skin of 150-300%. Where sour skin is a potential problem, changing from sprinkler to furrow irrigation, at least from bulbing t o the end of the season, is advisable where feasible.
Selected References

Causal Organism
The cause of sour skin is the grarn-negative bacterium Pseudomonas cepacia (Burkholder) Palleroni & Holmes, a versatile organism found as an inhabitant of soil and water or as a pathogen of plants and animals. Bacterial cells are rods that measure 1.6-3.2 X 0.8-1.0 J..Lm; they occur singly or in pairs; and they are motile by means of tufts of polar flagella. Most strains produce nonfluorescent, yellowish or greenish pigments, but the pigments may be of a variety of colors. P. cepacia is capable of using a wide range of nutrients. A large number of organic compounds are used as sole carbon and energy sources for growth, including a large variety of carbohydrates, monocarboxylic and dicarboxylic acids, monoalcohols and polyalcohols, aromatic compounds, amino acids, and amines. Substrates that are of diagnostic value (used by a majority of strains of P. cepacia but used only infrequently by other Pseudomonas species) include o-arabinose, o-Iucose, cellobiose, saccharate, mucate, sebacate, citraconate, and tryptamine. No organic growth factors are required. Cells accumulate poly-S-hydroxybutyrate as a carbon reserve material. P. cepacia is obligately aerobic. The optimum growth temperature is 30-35C. No growth occurs at 4C, and most strains grow at 41 C. Denitrification is negative while nitrate is reduced to nitrite. It is oxidase positive and arginine dihydrolase negative and can liquefy gelatin.

Bazzi, C. 1979. Identification of Pseudomonas cepacia on onion bulbs in ltaly. Phytopathol. Z. 95:254-258. Burkholder, W. H. 1950. Sour sk in, a bacterial rot of onion bulbs. Phytopathology 40: 115-117. Kawamoto, S. O., and Lorbeer, J. W. 1972. Multiplication of Pseudomonas cepacia in onion leaves. Phytopathology 62: 12631265. Kawamoto, S. O., and Lorbeer, J. W. 1974. Infection of onion leaves by Pseudomonas cepacia. Phytopathology 64: 1440-1445. Teviotdale, B. L., Davis, R. M., Guerard, J. P., and Harper, O. H. 1989. Effect of irrigation management on sour ski n of onion. Plant Ois.73:819-822.

(Prepared

by R. M. Davis)

Other Bacterial Diseases

An instance of stalk and leaf necrosis in onion seed crops caused by a strain of Erwinia herbico/a (Lohnis) Dye was reported from South Af rica in 1981. The characteristic syrnptom was a rapid necrosis of seed stalks, leading to their weakening and collapse under the weight of seed heads. Leaves were similarly affected. Another bacterial disease of onion plants causing leaf necrosis and rotting of the entire plant was reported from ew Zealand. The symptoms start on foliage as small, watersoaked lesions that expand rapidly to produce a slimy, gray brown rot that may progress down to the leaf base and rot the entire plant. The disease is favored by wet, humid ccnditions. Rotted plants have a strong, vinegarlike odor. The bacterium may enter the neck of the bulb, and rotting may progress down one or more internal scales as water-soaked, yellow brown discolorations. In advanced cases, entire bulbs may be completely decayed. The causal bacterium was identified as Pseudomonas margina/is (Brown) Stevens. A soft rot of onions grown during the cool season was reported from Japan. Initial symptoms on leaves are small, water-soaked lesions that enlarge along the veins to leaf sheaths and eventually decay the leaf sheath and fleshy scales in the bulbo Two bacteria, Erwinia rhapontici (Millard) Burkholder and P. margina/is pv. margina/is (Brown) Stevens were shown to be the causal agents of this disease. P. syringae pv. syringae van Hall has been reported to cause leaf necrosis in onion under certain growing conditions.
Selected References

Disease Cycle and Epidemiology

Apparently, onions are relatively resistant to P. cepacia prior to bulbing, or the environment does not become favorable for bacterial multiplication until after bulbing. Infection gene rally occurs through a wound when free water from rain, overhead irrigation, or flooding causes water congestion of the host tissue. The bacterium can gain entrance to the plant when onion tops are cut at harvest or through other wounds in the neck when the foliage falls over at maturity. Infection can also begin when water contaminated with bacterial cells strikes the younger upright leaves and flows down into the neck in the leaf blade axil. Young leaves are much more susceptible than mature leaves, which are usually symptomless. Infection can remain latent in the growing onion, and symptoms sometimes do not develop until the plant begins to bulbo Bacteria spread more rapidly in water-soaked tissue and when temperatures exceed 30 C. Infection advances into the bulb via the infected leaf and corresponding scale. The infection does not move into adjacent scales. Inoculum of P. cepacia has been associated with contaminated irrigation water. Splashing water from rain or overhead irrigation may carry water- or soil-inhabiting bacterial cells onto the neck of the plant.

Control
Control measures include proper maturing of the crop and quick drying after topping and harvest. Since contaminated irrigation water has been implicated in the spread of the pathogen, the use of recycled or irrigation runoff water should be avoided. The method of irrigation has a substantial impact on the incidence of sour skin. Season-long overhead irrigation provides a favorable environment for infection by P. cepa cia. whereas furrow irrigation results in almost complete absence of the disease. In experimental plots, the final four or five sprinkler irrigations were accompanied by increases in sour

Hattingh, M. J., and Walters, O. F. 1981. Stalk and leaf necrosis of onion caused by Erwinia herbicola. Plant Dis. 65:615-618. Ohuchi, A., Ohsawa, T., and Nishimura, J. 1983. Two pathogenic bacteria, Erwinia rhapontci (Millard 1924) Burkholder 1948 and Pseudomonas margina lis pv. marginalis (Brown 1918) Stevens 1925, causing a soft rot of onion. Ann. Phytopathol. SOCo Jpn. 49:619626. Wright, P. J., and Hale, C. N. 1992. A field and storage rot of onion caused by Pseudomonas marginalis. N.Z. J. Crop Hortic. Sci. 20:435-438.

(Prepared

by S. K. Mohan)

Yeast Soft Rot

Yeast soft rot of onions has been reported only from southeastern Washington and northeastern Oregon. The pathogen has a wide geographic distribution.

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