Abstract:In order to elucidate the causal agent of broccoli head rot in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, the causal bacterium was isolated and characterized with the pathogenicity test, Biolog and FAME (fatty acid methyl ester) test. The results indicated that the causal agent belong to Pseudomonas fluorescens. The Ningbo strains were most closely related to P.fluorescens in the phylogenetic trees constructed based on the 16S rDNA gene and 16S-23S rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) gene of the Ningbo strains and related species, respectively, while the 16S rDNA and ITS gene sequences of the Ningbo strains had 99% and 98% similarity with that of P.fluorescens, respectively. Overall, this result showed that P.fluorescens is the causal agent of broccoli head rot.