Plant and soil-associated microbiome dynamics determine the fate of bacterial wilt pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum.

Plant and the soil-associated microbiome is important for imparting bacterial wilt disease tolerance in plants. Plants are versatile organisms that are endowed with the capacity to withstand various biotic and abiotic stresses despite having no locomotory abilities. Being the agent for bacterial wilt (BW) disease, Ralstonia solanacearum (RS) colonizes the xylem vessels and limits the water supply to various plant parts, thereby causing wilting. The havoc caused by RS leads to heavy losses in crop productivity around the world, for which a sustainable mitigation strategy is urgently needed. As several factors can influence plant-microbe interactions, comprehensive understanding of plant and soil-associated microbiome under the influence of RS and various environmental/edaphic conditions is important to control this pathogen. This review mainly focuses on microbiome dynamics associated with BW disease and also provide update on microbial/non-microbial approaches employed to control BW disease in crop plants.