Comparison of Tumorigenic Strains ofErwinia herbicolaIsolated from Table Beet withE. h. gypsophilae

Tumorigenic strains of Erwinia herbicola were isolated from tumors on table beets (Beta vulgaris) collected from four commercial fields near Geneva, New York, in 1988. Strains were compared with E. h. gypsophilae, a saprophytic strain of E. herbicola (EH112Y), and strain C58 of Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Only strains of E. herbicola from beet were tumorigenic on beet slices and on roots of beet seedlings. These strains also infected stems of Gypsophila paniculata, causing spherical, compact tumors that contrasted with the elongate, necrotic tumors caused by E. h. gypsophilae (...)