© Benaki Phytopathological Institute
Hellenic Plant Protection Journal - Special Issue
34
M.C. H
OLEVA
, C.D. K
ARAFLA
and P.E. G
LYNOS
Benaki Phytopathological Institute, Department of Phytopathology, Laboratory of
Bacteriology, 8 St. Delta Str., GR-145 61 Kifissia, Athens, Greece
In November 2011, specimens of young
plantlets of sweet basil (
Ocimum basilicum
L.) cv. Genovese from a commercial hydro-
ponic culture in the area of Acharnes (Attiki),
exhibiting irregular-shaped, necrotic, black
lesions of variable size at leaf margins were
examined in the Laboratory of Bacteriolo-
gy of the Institute. This outbreak was report-
ed by the agronomist in charge to have af-
fected about 80 % of the plants grown in a
1000m
2
cultivated area. Symptoms were ob-
served in a relatively small number of fully
expanded true leaves per plant. Microscop-
ic examination of sections of affected leaves
revealed bacterial streaming from lesion
margins. Bacterial isolates obtained from
the leaf lesions were consistently identified
on the basis of cultural, physiological and
biochemical assays as well as a pathogenic-
ity test, as
Pseudomonas viridiflava.
To the
best of our knowledge this is the first report
of
P. viridiflava
naturally infecting sweet ba-
sil in Greece. Further characterization of the
isolates and their comparison to
P. viridiflava
reference strains is in progress.
