Vol. 11, Issue 12 (2022)

Author(s):
Dattatraya Hegde Radhika, Raghavendra Gunnaiah, Dadapeer Peerjade, Manjunath G, Sathish D, RS Jawadagi and AM Nadaf

Abstract:
Pomegranate is affected by many biotic stresses, among bacterial blight and wilt complex are major. Bacterial blight of pomegranate is caused by the pathogen Xanthomonas citri pv. punicae (Xcp), a gram-negative bacterium. It is leading to 60-80 % yield loss in the blight infested pomegranate orchard. Farmers are facing great difficulty in managing the disease in effective manner. The disease symptom can be seen on all the parts of pomegranate, except flower. In present study, pathogen was isolated from one of the major pomegranate cultivating belt of Karnataka (India), i.e. Bagalkot. Pathogen confirmation was done through morphological appearance and pathogenicity test. Also, molecular confirmation through gene specific primers and partial sequencing of 16S rRNA. Thus, confirmed pathogen was used for screen the resistance in pomegranate genotypes Bhagwa and IC318735. Bhagwa and IC318735 exhibited 31.5 % and 0.9 % disease severity respectively at 9 day post inoculation of pathogen. This relative tolerant genotype can be used in advanced breeding programs.