Diseases
Bacterial Disease Concepts
Bacterial plant diseases can produce water-soaked lesions, blights, rots, or vascular symptoms depending on the organism and tissue involved, but those signs overlap with fungal disease and abiotic injury.
What to look for
- Water-soaked or rapidly expanding lesions
- Tissue collapse or soft decay in susceptible zones
- Patterns associated with splash or wounds
- Repeated symptoms following contaminated tools or propagation events
Important look-alikes
- Fungal leaf spots
- Botrytis or other flower diseases
- Mechanical bruising
- Chemical injury
How to confirm
- Submit representative tissue for laboratory diagnosis when confirmation matters
- Document recent pruning, propagation, splash, and sanitation history
- Compare progression under dry versus wet conditions
- Inspect for mixed infections
Management principles
- Separate affected material
- Reduce avoidable splash and wounding
- Sanitize tools and surfaces appropriately
- Use diagnosis-specific management rather than generic antimicrobial assumptions
Prevention
- Clean propagation workflow
- Avoid reusing contaminated water or tools
- Inspect incoming stock
- Keep detailed lot and sanitation records
Visual study guide
- Water-soaked lesion reference
- Splash and wound entry diagram
- Bacterial versus fungal lesion comparison
- Sanitation workflow