Presence of bacterial spot of tomato and pepper in India
Surveys were conducted in India between May – October in 2019 – 2022 to survey bacterial leaf spot in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and pepper (Capsicum sp.) plants across nine states. The following Xanthomonas species were recorded for the first time from infected leaves and fruits in the following states:
- Xanthomonas euvesicatoria pv. euvesicatoria (EPPO A2 List) was reported on tomato and chilli pepper plants in Haryana, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
- X. vesicatoria (EPPO A2 List) was reported on tomato plants in Haryana, Punjab and Delhi.
- X. euvesicatoria pv. perforans (EPPO A2 List) was reported on tomato and chilli pepper plants in Haryana, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh.
The identity of the pathogens was confirmed by molecular testing. X. vesicatoria was previously only reported in Karnataka and the EPPO Secretariat had no records of X. euvesicatoria pv. perforans or X. euvesicatoria pv. euvesicatoria in India.
Sources
Babu PL, Devappa V, Rajender J, Geat N, Devi RS, Patidar R, Singh A, Banarwal VK, Padaria JC, Kamra A, Singh D. Unveiling the prevalence, pathogenic and molecular characterization of Xanthomonas strains responsible for bacterial leaf spot of tomato and pepper in India. Journal of Plant Pathology (early view) https://doi.org/10.1007/s42161-026-02202-2