Stewart reported a bacterial wilt disease of corn from New York in 1895 that caused considerable damage to sweet corn grown in Long Island ((Elliot, 1941). The epidemics and the severity of losses of 1932 and 1933 stimulated intensive studies on the disease that led to the development of resistant corn hybrids. Since the use of more resistant hybrids, the occurrence of the disease has been sporadic (Pepper, 1967).

Stewart’s disease of corn is caused by the bacterium Pantoea stewartii (formerly Erwinia stewartii). Since its initial identification, it has been found in most corn-growing areas of the USA and in restricted regions elsewhere in the world. It often occurs in the south central Corn Belt eastward to the Atlantic coast. The last report of its occurrence in Wisconsin was in 1943. The disease was absent in Wisconsin for the last 57 years and reappeared in 1999, presumably because of the last two years of mild winters.