Characterization of the host reaction of some citrus plants with Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri, causing citrus bacterial canker disease.

Relative degree of resistance of citrus to Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri, the causal bacterium of canker, was investigated. Growth rate of a bacterium in leaf tissues after infiltration, disease incidence, and percent of lesion area were compared. By using growth rate[(GR=(At - A$\sub$t-1/)/A$\sub$t-1] host plants were differentiated into susceptible and resistant. Growth rates reached to peak at 40 hrs after inoculation and then declined. The growth rate in leaf tissues of a moderately susceptible cultivar, Citrus sinensis vu. Lane late(sweet orange), was the highest, and those of C. unshiu ${\times}$ C. sinensis(kiyomi), C. junos(yuzu), [(Citrus. unshiu x C. sinensis) x C. reticulata] (shiranuhi), and C. unshiu(satuma mandarin) were similar. This result indicates that the growth rate of the bacterium in leaf tissues can be effectively used for evaluation of disease resistance for citrus plants to X. axonopodis pv. citri. The disease on sweet orange occurred earlier than relatively resistant citrus plants tested. The percent of lesion area on leaf was also higher in sweet orange than those of satsuma mandarin, shiranuhi and kiyomi, and yuzu. The disease severity was highest on sweet orange and followed by kiyomi, shiranuhi, satsuma mandarin, and yuzu.