Pathogenicity and Characterization ofErwinia ananasCausing a Postharvest Disease of Cantaloup Fruit

Cantaloups (Cucumis melo var. reticulatus) grown in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas developed small, water-soaked lesions after harvest. Lesions were shallow, firm, and, in many cases, not easily detected until the peel was removed. A yellow bacterium was isolated on nutrient agar and used to fulfill Koch's postulates. The bacterium was nonfluorescent, gram-negative, rod-shaped (0.5-1.1×0.9-3.5 μm), motile, and capable of anaerobic growth. Mucoid colonies were produced on high sugar media. The bacteria grew at 36 C and on Miller-Schroth medium. The pathological and physiological attributes of the bacterium fit the description of Erwinia ananas (.)