Abstract

 

Bacterial soft rot has caused more crop losses worldwide than any other bacterial disease. Current methods of inhibiting bacterial soft rot, such as using chemicals and pesticides, proved to be inefficient and not environmentally-friendly. In order to develop a more environmentally-friendly and cost effective product to curb bacterial soft rot, a comparative study between tannic acid and green tea leaves was conducted to test for their effectiveness against a plant pathogen and soft-rot-causing bacteria, Pectobacterium carotovorum. Experiments include well diffusion, colony count and practical application on lettuce pieces. Results showed that both tannic acid and green tea were effective in inhibiting bacterial growth, although to a different extent. However, the practical application on lettuce pieces showed that tannic acid and green tea were not as effective in killing bacteria which have already infected a host.