Fruit rot of tinda caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa - a new report from India.
The fruit rot disease (FRD) is an emerging problem of tinda (Praecitrullus fistulosus) in India. FRD epidemics begin during rainy and warm weather and often spoil marketable produce. Symptoms appear as numerous, pale brown-to-dark brown, deeply penetrating circular soft rot lesions on fleshy fruit tissues. Non-effervescent bacterial exudates occasionally form on lesions. Repeated isolations from FRD-affected tinda fruits consistently yielded the same bacterial species. Inoculation of the isolated bacterium into asymptomatic tinda fruits produced identical soft rot symptoms. The pathogen was identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa based on morphological, biochemical, pathogenicity and genetic analyses. This is thought to be the first report of fruit rot of tinda caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in India (ITCC B0030) and a new record of bacterial rot of Praecitrullus fistulosus induced by a fluorescent and blue-green pigment producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa.