A field experiment was carried out at Embrapa Hortaliças, Brasilia, Brazil, with the objective of assessing the incidence of bacterial wilt on processing tomatoes irrigated by drip and sprinkle systems, under soil and climate conditions of the Brazilian "Cerrado". The trial was performed in a field naturally infested with race 1, biovar I of Ralstonia solanacearum. Different irrigation frequencies (0.5; 1; 2; 4; and 8 days) were further evaluated for drip irrigation. Disease incidence was significantly higher when the crop was drip irrigated, with an average of 42.5% of wilted plants in comparison with 5.0% incidence for sprinkle irrigation, 65 days after transplanting. Frequencies of drip irrigation did not affect (p>0.05) bacterial wilt incidence.
Lycopersicon esculentum; Ralstonia solanacearum; soil borne diseases; irrigation interval
