Abstract
In September 1982, an unknown bacterial wilt disease with brownish discoloured lower leaves was found on carnations growing in Shizuoka prefecture, Japan. In the diseased plants it was usually observed that the vascular tissues of a stem discoloured to brown and the roots were rotted. These symptoms developed over six months before infected plants were finally killed. The young shoots of artificially inoculated plants showed a peculiar appearance with extremely short internodes, but this symptom was not observed on naturally infected plants. The causal bacterium was identified as Erwinia chrysanthemi pv. dianthicola by its bacteriological properties and pathogenicity. This is the first record of bacterial stunt of carnation in Japan.
