Symptoms usually begin to appear on random plants throughout the field as green fruit begins to mature. The bacterium (Pseudomonas corrugata) is ubiquitous to soils and develops when weather conditions (cooler nights/very hot, humid days) and cultural practices (i.e., excess heavy N use) lead to favorable conditions for disease development. Symptoms include the development of irregular greasy (at first), brown lesions on main stems and branches. Late pruning (i.e., suckering) can provide entry points for the bacterial disease. Internally, stems will become chocolate brown and mushy. High humidity is necessary for disease development. High nitrogen and lower night temperatures are associated with Pith Necrosis development, where it has been reported around the state this past week. Control begins with cultural practices such as avoiding working in fields with wet foliage, avoiding late pruning, tying when plants are wet, and watching the amount of N applied to plantings. Infected plants can be rouged from field and most often it does not spread to nearby uninfected plants.
