Status of Bacterial Wilt (Ralstonia solanacearum) of Solanaceous Vegetables in Himachal Pradesh

Ralstonia solanacearum, the causal agent of bacterial disease, is a severe obstacle to the production of solanaceous vegetables in both tropical and temperate regions. A total of nine major vegetables growing districts viz., Kangra, Hamirpur, Solan, Sirmour, Kullu, Shimla, Mandi and Bilaspur were surveyed in the month of June-July, 2019 to know the status of bacterial wilt of solanaceous vegetables in term of its incidence. A significant variation was observed in term of bacterial wilt incidence among the major vegetables growing areas surveyed. The highest wilt incidence (90-100%) was recorded in tomato varieties Lal Sona, Roma and Manisha at Shimla, Kangra and Solan districts at Nayaser, Palampur and Gaura areas respectively. The Arka Kusumkar variety of brinjal also showed high wilt incidence of about 90-100 per cent in Palampur. Whereas, in capsicum variety California wonder was found to be susceptible to bacterial wilt and recorded about 60-90 per cent wilt incidence. In Hamirpur and Kangra 'Heemsohna' showed susceptible reaction (65-80%) but in Sirmour and Solan their reaction was moderately susceptible whereas, in Kullu district moderately resistant reaction was noticed in the same cultivar. Although 'Roma' in Kangra and 'Lal Sona' in Shimla were found highly susceptible against bacterial wilt of tomato. Similarly, 'California Wonder” of bell pepper and 'Arka' of brinjal showed highly susceptible reaction to bacterial wilt in Kangra district. Only one tomato cultivar 'Heemsohna” from Tyali village of Shimla was found completely resistant to bacterial wilt