Ralstonia solanacearum is an aerobic non-sporing, Gram-negative plant pathogenic bacterium. is soil-borne and motile with a polar flagellar tuft. It colonises the xylem, causing bacterial wilt in a very wide range of potential host plants. It is known as Granville wilt when it occurs in tobacco. Bacterial wilts of tomato, pepper, eggplant and Irish potato caused by Ralstonia solanacearum were among the first diseases that Erwin Frink Smith proved to be caused by a bacterial pathogen.
