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First detection of Pectobacterium carotovorum associated with potato soft rot in Georgia

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  • Maka MURADASHVILI,
  • Galina MEPARISHVILI,
  • Zoia SIKHARULIDZE,
  • Marina TEDIASHVILI,
  • Tamar KOKASHVILI,
  • Marjon KEIJGER,
  • Jan VAN DER WOLF
Maka MURADASHVILI
Institute of Phytopathology and Biodiversity, Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University, Batumi 6010, Georgia
Galina MEPARISHVILI
Institute of Phytopathology and Biodiversity, Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University, Batumi 6010, Georgia
Zoia SIKHARULIDZE
Institute of Phytopathology and Biodiversity, Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University, Batumi 6010, Georgia
Marina TEDIASHVILI
G. Eliava Institute of Bacteriophages, Microbiology and Virology. Tbilisi, 0160, Georgia
Tamar KOKASHVILI
G. Eliava Institute of Bacteriophages, Microbiology and Virology. Tbilisi, 0160, Georgia
Marjon KEIJGER
Wageningen University & Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, the Netherlands
Jan VAN DER WOLF
Wageningen University & Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, the Netherlands
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/phyto-17061

Published 2026-07-19

Keywords

  • Bacterial disease,
  • isolate,
  • gapA gene,
  • Sequence alignment

How to Cite

[1]
M. MURADASHVILI, “First detection of Pectobacterium carotovorum associated with potato soft rot in Georgia”, Phytopathol. Mediterr., pp. 225–230, Jul. 2026.

Copyright (c) 2026 Maka MURADASHVILI, Galina MEPARISHVILI, Zoia SIKHARULIDZE, Marina TEDIASHVILI, Tamar KOKASHVILI, Marjon KEIJGER, Jan VAN DER WOLF

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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Abstract

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)  is an important food crop in Georgia; but use of poor-quality seed potatoes and presence of harmful pathogens are important contributors to low crop productivity. Potato soft rot, caused by Pectobacterium carotovorum, had not been previously identified in potato crops in Georgia. During field surveys, potato tubers exhibiting typical soft rot symptoms, including water-soaked lesions, tissue maceration, and discolouration, were collected from farmers’ fields, storage facilities, and experimental plots. The sampled potato varieties included Marfona, Jelly, Picasso, Slovyanka, Khortytsa, and Nevsky. Research using cultural, morphological, biochemical, and molecular analyses showed that Dickeya solani and Pectobacterium carotovorum causing potato soft rot are common in the studied regions of Georgia. These results, together with the 100% sequence identity of the gapA gene, provide the first record P. carotovorum in Georgia.

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