Abstract:
esame is a valuable source of vegetable oil. In spite the importance of this crop, little
information is available on the infestation of this crop by Ralstonia solanacearum the pathogen
that causes bacterial wilt in tomato and potato. There have been reports of sesame showing
characteristic bacterial wilt symptoms in some parts of western Kenya. This research was
conducted to determine the host specificity of R. solanacearum on sesame and evaluate disease
resistance among local sesame cultivars. Four different sesame cultivars were used (KK4,
Uganda, Sudan and Local White) and grown in a naturally infested greenhouse in a randomized
complete block design with three replications. Data was collected on plant performance,
disease incidence and severity on selected plants in each of the experimental units. Collected
data was subjected to ANOVA using Genstat at 5% level of significant. Sesame was found to
be infested with R. solanacearum. On natural resistance, the Local white sesame cultivar was
found to the R. solanacearum most tolerant followed KK4, Uganda and Sudan cultivars
respectively. The resistance in the local white sesame cultivar can be exploited through further
research to ascertain its efficacy in bacterial wilt management.
