Bacterial wilt of solanaceous crops: Sign, symptoms and management

Solanaceous crops covers a major part of agriculture production throughout the world including India. It can grows under various conditions from tropics to sub-tropics. Under such conditions these crops gets infested with a number of diseases out of which bacterial wilt is one of them which is caused by bacterium Ralstonia solanacearum also known as most damaging plant pathogen. Strains of this devasting pathogen affect more than 200 plant species in over 50 families of kingdom Plantae throughout the world. Members of the family Solanaceae such as potato, tomato, chilli and tobacco are the most affected. The poor seed systems were a major contributor to the extensive, spread, high prevalence and the high incidence of this disease. Many management strategies has been adopted to manage this bacterial disease including biological to chemical strategies. Epidemiological surveillance of plant pathogens based on genotyping methods is mandatory to improve disease management strategies. So, our review is focused on the etiology, epidemiology and management practices used to manage this devastating disease.