Bacterial blight on Sansevieria cylindrica caused by Pseudomonas sp.

The African spear or cylindrical snake plant (Sansevieria cylindrica) is commonly used as an ornamental indoor succulent plant. In May 2019, we observed bacterial blight in S. cylindrica grown for interior decoration and air purification in Jinju, South Korea. These symptoms eventually led to leaf desiccation. Similar leaf blight symptoms have been frequently documented on social media; however, as an imported species, the pathogens of S. cylindrica have not been reported in South Korea. Based on pathogenicity tests; levan production, oxidase production, pectinolytic activity, arginine dihydrolase production, and tobacco hypersensibility tests; analytical profile index API tests; and phylogenetic analysis based on multi-locus sequence analysis using the 16S rRNA, gyrB, rpoD, and rpoB gene sequences, we identified the causative pathogen as Pseudomonas sp. This study is the first to report leaf blight caused by Pseudomonas sp. on S. cylindrica.

Automated summary

This study identified Pseudomonas sp. as the causative pathogen of leaf blight on Sansevieria cylindrica, marking the first report of such disease in South Korea. The identification was based on various tests and phylogenetic analysis using gene sequences, shedding light on the pathogen involved in this disease outbreak.