Pseudomonas savastanoi and Other Bacteria Colonizing the Surface of Olive Leaves in the Field

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Abstract
Aerobic, heterotrophic, mesophilic bacteria were isolated from olive (Olea europaea) leaves in Jan., April, July and Oct. in each of 3 consecutive years. Phenetic data on the isolates and marker strains were collected and analysed using numerical taxonomic methods: 1744 of the 1789 isolates were recovered in phena that were equated with P. savastanoi (67.86% of the isolates), Erwinia herbicola (8.50%), Bacillus megaterium (4.02%), Micrococcus luteus (3.63%) the Xanthomonas campestris group (3.35%), Arthrobacter globiformis (2.07%), Lactobacillus plantarum (1.45%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (1.40%), Serratia marcescens (1.34%), Acetobacter aceti (1.23%), Leuconostoc dextranicum (1.12%), Pseudomonas fluorescens (1.06%), Bacillus subtilis (0.34%) and P. delafieldii (0.11%). There were characteristic seasonal fluctuations in the populations of most of the bacteria. The abundance of P. savastanoi on healthy leaves in April and Oct. supports earlier suggestions that the phylloplane of the host may be an important source of readily availabe inoculum in the epidemiology of olive knot disease.