Biochemical Studies on xanthomonas Axonopodis Pv. Punicae Causing Bacterial Blight of Pomegranate

Bacterial blight caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. punicae is the devastating disease of pomegranate. The pathogen strains were collected from predominant pomegranate growing areas of Karnataka to understand the existence of biochemical variability among the different isolates. Among 3 strains (Xap1-Raichur , Xap2- Bellary, Xap3-Koppal) Xap1 showed maximum starch hydrolysis, Xap3 liquified maximum gelatin and all the strains showed positive reaction for ammonia production , H2S production, protein digestion. All the strains showed negative reactions for indole production, voges-poskaure test, nitrate reduction and methyl red test.