Soft rot of root chicory in Hokkaido and its causal bacteria

In August 2010, bacterial soft rot was found on root chicory (Cichorium intybus var. sativum) in Hokkaido, Japan. Severely infected plants in fields were discolored, had wilted foliage, and black necrosis of petioles near the crown. Wilted leaves subsequently collapsed and died, forming a dry, brown or black rosette. The root and crown became partially or wholly soft-rotted. Slimy masses on infected areas of roots, turned dark brown or black. Gram-negative, rod-shaped, peritrichously flagellated, facultatively anaerobic bacteria were exclusively isolated from rotted roots, and typical symptoms were reproduced after inoculation with the strains. The bacteria were identified as Dickeya dianthicola, Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum, and Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. odoriferum based on further bacteriological characterization and the sequence analysis of the malate dehydrogenase gene and 16S rRNA gene. These bacteria should be included with the previously reported Dickeya (=Erwinia) chrysanthemi in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, as causal pathogens of bacterial wilt of chicory.