Archivio Journal of Plant Pathology

Abstract:

Maize (Zea mays) is one of the most important crops in Poland. Its acreage and production have grown over the last ten years, also thanks to the increasing interest for the bioenergy sector in the country. Maize is used as a source of methanol and biomass, and for fodder. Studies on bacterial infections of maize are plentiful in the world literature, but not in Poland, were only two such reports exist. This prompted the present investigation, in which combined samples from plants growing in different Polish locations were tested. Leaf samples were collected from plants displaying symptoms resembling those of leaf spot disease of maize induced by Pantoea ananatis. Four bacterial isolates were identified as P. ananatis using pathogenicity, biochemical, serological and molecular tests. To our knowledge this is the first report of the presence of the P. ananatis on maize in Poland and in Europe.