Management of Bacterial Spot of Pepper and Tomato
The primary management strategy of bacterial spot begins with use of certified pathogen-free seed and disease-free transplants. The bacteria do not survive well once host material has decayed, so crop rotation is recommended. Once the bacteria are introduced into a field or greenhouse, the disease is very difficult to control.
Pepper plants are routinely sprayed with copper-containing bactericides to maintain a "protective" cover on the foliage and fruit (Figure 17). Strains of the pathogen resistant to copper and/or streptomycin are fairly common and can be detected by plating bacteria on media containing these compounds (Figure 18). Genes encoding resistance to copper and streptomycin can be borne on plasmids (extrachromosomal DNA) contained in the bacterial cells. The presence of these genes on plasmids allows for the rapid spread of resistance to other non-resistant bacteria.