Bacterial sudden yellow death and soft rot of Coriandrum sativum

Abstract

Parsley (Coriandrum sativum) plants exhibited a sudden yellowing and death that included a soft rot of the roots and the basal parts of the petioles. A rod shaped, facultatively anaerobic, Gram negative bacterium was isolated that infected healthy parsley plants, reproducing the original symptoms. Biochemical, biological, staining and morphological studies suggested that the bacterium was most closely related to Erwinia carotovora subsp. betavasculorum. As E. carotovora has not been reported from parsley (in Brazil) (Robbs et al., 1981), this appears to be a new disease in Brazil.