Pathogen Contamination of Soil via Tomato Plants Developing with Bacterial Wilt in the Field

Abstract

We investigated whether tomato plants developing with bacterial wilt causes Ralstonia solanacearum contamination of soil and whether resistant rootstock restrains the transfer of the pathogen to soil in the field. In a susceptible rootstock, migration of the pathogen with a bacterial population close to the detection upper limit was confirmed in all plots in the upper layers of soil, and the migration was detected in 2/3 of plots even in deep soil layers. There was no significant difference in the results of a moderately resistant rootstock from those of a susceptible one. In a resistant rootstock, the migration of the pathogen was detected from only a few plots, and the bacterial population was lower by two orders of magnitude compared with those of a susceptible rootstock. However, it was confirmed that the pathogen transferred to the deep layers of soil even from a resistant rootstock.