Isolation, Identification and In Vitro Antibiotic Sensitivity Pattern of Citrus Canker Causing Organism Xanthomonas axonopodis.

Background: Xanthomonas axonopodis or X. axonopodis is the devastating causal organism of citrus canker, widely spread bacterial disease of plants from both epidemiological and economic points of view. Furthermore, the situation is worsening by the advent of increased antibiotic resistance among this bacteria. The major interests of this study were isolation, identification and in vitro antibiotic sensitivity pattern of the causal organism. Besides, herbal sensitivity of those organisms was also tested. Methods: In this study, 9 isolates of the organism were identified based on morphological, cultural and biochemical characteristics. All the isolates were tested for antibiotic sensitivity against 5 commonly used antibiotics namely, cefotaxime, bacitracin, chloramphenicol, streptomycin and gentamycin. Results: X. axonopodis was found 100% resistant to cefotaxime and 77.77% to bacitracin. Chloramphenicol was found most effective as all the isolates were sensitive to it. The herbal sensitivity of X. axonopodis was tested with the plant extract of Allium cepa, Allium sativum, Litchi chinensis, Vitis amurensis and Syzygium cumini. Among the plant extracts, the pathogens were found most sensitive to Allium sativum and Syzygium cumini and resistant to V. amurensis. Conclusion: The study showed herbal treatment can be implicated for the disease citrus canker caused by antibiotic resistant X. axonopodis in future