Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the most important vegetables in Togo. Unfortunately, tomatoes are susceptible to many diseases, among which bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum causes major yield losses. In this study, incidence of bacterial wilt and its distribution was evaluated in the central region of Togo, the major tomato producing area in the country. Overall, 16 localities were surveyed in four prefectures. In each locality, three fields were visited, and the incidence of the disease was recorded, and diseased samples were collected for laboratory investigation. The results showed that bacterial wilt occurred in all the fields visited, indicating a field incidence of 100%, whereas the plant incidence ranged from 10.00±00% to 43.33±3.33%, with an average of 20.94±1.77%. The antibody based Immunostrip test was positive for R. solanacearum in 100% of the visited fields. From 144 samples collected from fields, 45 R. solanacearum isolates were isolated on Modified SMSA media. This survey results show that tomato bacterial wilt is a real threat to tomato production in the central region of Togo.
Near-Complete Genome Sequence of Ralstonia solanacearum T523, a Phylotype I Tomato Phytopathogen Isolated from the Philippines
