Unusual Occurrence of Erwinia Stalk Rot of Sorghum in Tarai Region of Uttarakhand

In sampling for detection of destructive soft rot bacterium, Erwinia chrysanthemi (Ech) and to identify the locations that are severely affected with stalk rot disease, highest disease incidence (46.85%) was found in Pantnagar (location 1, 2) followed by Haldwani (41.50%) and Doraha (Bajpur) (38.90%). Least disease incidence (7.50%) was noted in Tanakpur. Pathogen was detected from all the five samples randomly selected fromSailanigot, Pantnagar, Haldwani, Sultanpur (Kashipur) followed by Rudrapur (four out of five samples). Therefore, for these Ech harboring locations, suitable management strategies need to be formulated before the onset of the Erwinia stalk rot epidemic on sorghum.