ABSTRACT The Ralstonia solanacearum species complex (RSSC) ranks among the most destructive plant pathogens worldwide, due to its broad host range, extensive geographic distribution and remarkable environmental adaptability. Its persistence in soil and colonization of plant vascular tissues severely limits the effectiveness of conventional chemical control, posing significant challenges for disease management. This review highlights recent advances in understanding the environmental adaptation mechanisms of RSSC. Key topics include the dynamic evolution of pathogenicity, niche‐specific survival strategies and virulence regulation mediated by quorum sensing, and complex interactions with surrounding microbial communities that shape its behaviour and fitness. We further provide a comprehensive assessment of current control strategies from an ecological perspective, encompassing physical, chemical, genetic, agronomic and microbial approaches, with critical evaluation of their mechanisms, potential and limitations. Meanwhile, we discuss the major challenges in bacterial wilt management and outline future directions, with an emphasis on multi‐omics‐informed precision breeding, microbiome engineering and intelligent integrated disease management (IDM). These emerging strategies hold promise for the sustainable and effective long‐term control of bacterial wilt disease caused by RSSC.
Han et al. (2026) studied this question.