Survival of Xanthomonas campestris PV. vignicola in Infested Soil, Cowpea Seed and Cowpea Debris

RU Okechukwu1* and EJA Ekpo2

1 International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, PMB 5320 Ibadan, Nigeria
2 Crop Protection and Environmental Biology, University of Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstrsact

Field and laboratory experiments were conducted in the Sudan savanna site of IITA’s experimental Station, Minjibir, Kano State, to study the survival of Xanthomonas campestris pv. vignicola in infested soil, cowpea seed, and debris. The experiment was conducted in a randomised complete block design with five cowpea varieties over three cropping seasons (from 1996 to 1998). The results showed that the bacterium survived in infected plant debris, seed, and soil but after 8 months off-cropping season, the bacterium was not recovered from the soil. This implies that seeds and plant debris are the major means by which X. campestris pv. vignicola survives through seasons.

Key words: Bacterial blight, Vigna unguiculata, Cowpea, Xanthomonas campestris pv. vignicola

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* - Corresponding Author

Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna, Mapalana, Kamburupitiya, Sri Lanka

Copyright © 2007 by the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna

Print ISSN 1391-3646 Online ISSN 2386-1533