Grafting tomato with resistant eggplant and bacteriophages treatment to suppress the development of bacterial wilt disease (Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum)

Abstract Bacterial wilt disease caused by Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum is a major problem in tomato cultivation. This research was aimed to evaluate the potential of grafting two susceptible tomato varieties (Servo and Kaliurang) with EG203-resistant eggplant, combined with bacteriophage treatment to suppress bacterial wilt disease. The results showed that grafting tomatoes with EG203 eggplant combined with bacteriophage treatment effectively suppressed the development of bacterial wilt disease. Grafting Servo – EG203 combined with bacteriophages treatment resulted in the longest incubation period (45 days), lowest incidence (6.25%), lowest severity of bacterial wilt (2.5%), and AUDPC value (8.75) at 49 days after inoculation. The low development of bacterial wilt in grafting and bacteriophage treatment was supported by the low population of R. pseudosolanacearum in the soil, which was only around 103 CFU/gram at 49 days after inoculation. In conclusion, the combination of tomato grafting and bacteriophage treatment showed promising results in controlling bacterial wilt disease.