![]() When a papaya tree is infected, the axil end of the leaf stalk shows greyish to black water-soaked symptoms which later become necrotic. Fortunately, this disease has not been detected in papaya plantations in Sarawak. Other species of Erwinia have been isolated from papaya trees with dieback symptoms in Tawau, Sabah, by the Sarawak Department of Agriculture, during a collaborative research trip to Tawau. The first reported incidence of this disease was in the Caribbean Islands, and in South East Asia, Java had the first infection. In West Malaysia, the affected papaya varieties were Eksotika, Solo, Hong Kong and Sekaki. This particular species is of plant quarantine importance. ![]() One of the species, Erwinia papayae, has been isolated in West Malaysia. This disease, which is also known as bacterial crown rot or bacterial stem canker in other countries, is caused by a few species of bacteria from the family of Enterobacteriaceae and the genus, Erwinia. In 2008, 258.3 ha of papaya plantations were infected, resulting in an estimated loss of RM 51.5 million. ![]() This devastating disease later spread to Perak, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang and Perlis. The disease caused the export volume of papaya in Peninsular to plunge from 57,113 tonnes in 2003 to 10,323 tonnes in 2008. ![]() Bacterial dieback of papaya trees first occurred in Batu Pahat, Johore, in 2003.
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