A soft rot inducing bacterium was isolated from decaying potato tubers and attempts were made to identify it at species level. Biochemical, biological and staining procedures allowed to identify it as belonging to the species Pseudomonas viridiflava. Additionally, the potential pathogenicity and host range of the identified isolate was checked by artificial inoculation of storage organs of different plants. This paper showed and confirmed that phytobacteria other than Pectobacterium spp are able to induce soft rot and that this fact deserves further investigation as far as crop losses due to prokaryotes are concerned.
New disease; Bacterial Disease; Identification; Soft Rot
