Epidemiological evidence for the emergence of a new pathogenic variant of Ralstonia solanacearum in Martinique (French West Indies)

strains were initially described as the ‘ Anthurium -cucurbit’ strain. In 2003, they made up one-third of the isolates recovered from solanaceous hosts, particularly tomato. This pathogenic variant of R. solanacearum was consistently recovered from wild species and several weeds throughout Martinique, suggesting that these strains were well established in Martinique. Data reported are consistent with the emergence of a new population of R. solanacearum in Martinique, which has spread rapidly across the entire island and may overtake the previously established population, particularly on tomatoes. Evidence is presented which suggests that the emergence of these new strains is more frequent on vegetable crops when cucurbitaceous and musaceous plants are grown in succession.