Survival of Klebsiella pneumoniae strain borkar in pomegranate orchard soil and its tolerance to temperature and pH

Abstract

The plant pathogenic Klebsiella pneumoniae survived in pomegranate orchard soil for more than two years in an infectious stage. The pomegranate seedlings/grafts planted at a site which had the wilt disease plant earlier and left fallow for a season also succumb to Klebsiella infection causing wilt. The bacterium also survives in root bark necrosis lesions for more than two years under laboratory storage condition. The plant pathogenic Klebsiella pneumoniae survived at a temperature up to 45˚C from a low temperature of 5˚C, indicating its surviving ability in temperate and tropical temperature condition. The survival of the bacterium at 7 to 10 pH levels indicates its tolerance to neutral and alkaline condition; however no growth of the bacterium at 2 to 6 pH indicates its intolerance to acidic condition.