Abstract:
Field and laboratory experiments were conducted in the Sudan savanna site of IITA’s experimental
Station, Minjibir, Kano State, to study the survival of Xanthomonas campestris pv. vignicola in infested
soil, cowpea seed, and debris. The experiment was conducted in a randomised complete block design
with five cowpea varieties over three cropping seasons (from 1996 to 1998). The results showed that the
bacterium survived in infected plant debris, seed, and soil but after 8 months off-cropping season, the
bacterium was not recovered from the soil. This implies that seeds and plant debris are the major
means by which X. campestris pv. vignicola survives through seasons.
