Bacterial blight is caused by species of Xanthomonas. The bacterium is highly host specific and can survive in undecomposed plant tissues for as long as a year and can reside on the foliage for several months before initiating disease. Good sanitation practices and a culture-indexing program are the only tools for controlling this disease. Affected plants should be discarded promptly. Workers should wash their hands after handling diseased plants or soil. Diseased plant debris should be removed from the growing area. Handling of wet foliage should be avoided. Since bacteria can be spread from plant to plant by irrigation water, minimize splashing and reduce leaf wetness by spacing and practices such as ebb and flow irrigation. Copper compounds (Kocide, Phyton 27) may help prevent spread of the disease,but will not cure infected plants. Phytotoxicity has been reported, so apply the materials to a small set of plants before applying to entire crop.
