Bacterial wilt

Symptom

The disease is caused by Pseudomonas bacteria. Affected plants initially exhibit symptoms on the uppermost leaves, which begin to soften. During the daytime heat, the plants suddenly wilt but may recover at night. Within 2 to 3 days, the leaves may remain green but become limp and progressively more wilted without drying out. The disease can affect patches or spread across the entire field. When the stem is cut lengthwise, the vascular bundles appear brownish in color. The longitudinally cut stem in water will reveal a white milky stream of bacteria and slime flowering from the xylem into the water within a few minutes. Slowly developing plants may exhibit stunting and large adventitious roots on the stem. Preventive measures include treating seeds with appropriate bactericides and applying foliar sprays around the base of the plants to reduce infection.