[2] Members of this family are facultative anaerobes, able to ferment sugars to lactic acid, have nitrate reductase, but lack oxidases.

D. dadantii is a motile, non-sporing, straight rod-shaped cell with rounded ends, much like the other members of the genus, Dickeya.

D. dadantii causes disease on several different ornamental and horticultural host plants throughout the world including: tropical, subtropical, and temperate climates.

[10][11] D. dadantii is phytopathogenic bacterium causing soft rot diseases on many host plants including some which are economically important.

In addition to symptoms of wilt, the disease appears as sunken and cracked external lesions also having a brown interior in cross section in subterranean bulbs and tubers[13] Diseased plants will display a variety of symptoms including: wilting, stunting and vascular discoloration of the stems.

Early symptoms include water soaked lesions at the site of infection, gradually expanding chlorotic leaves and loss of turgor in tissues.

The pathogen is very successful at infiltrating host tissues due to the many pectinases responsible for disassembly of plant cell wall polysaccharides.

Upon reaching the xylem vessels D. dadantii possesses the ability to spread to new regions of the host and other areas may begin to display symptoms.

Colonization within the xylem restricts flow of water causing loss of turgor pressure and wilting of foliage and stems.

[15] D. dadantii is able to infect the fleshy, succulent plant parts, such as tubers, rhizomes, stems and leaves, causing localized symptoms.

[17] When D. dadantii is virulent it enters primarily through hydathodes and wounds, with the assistance of jasmonates,[18] where the bacteria rapidly breakdown the parenchymatous tissues with the use of pectic enzymes.

These factors include: “cellulases, iron assimilation, a Hrp type III secretion system, exopolysaccharides, motility, and proteins involved in resistance against plant defense mechanisms”.

The pea aphid is able to contract the pathogen from an infected plant and is destroyed in a mode of action similar to Bacillus thuringiensis[12] by producing cyt-like entomotoxins that cause sepsis.

Rapid identification of this species utilizes this water-insoluble blue pigment appearing in the bacterial colonies as a chemotaxonomic trait.

Researchers at Fu Jen Catholic University in Taiwan developed a medium that differentiates D. dadantii from other species.

[26] Orchid growers have used environmental controls to provide the optimum growth conditions for the plants while minimizing the cultivation of the pathogens.

Proper control of humidity and air movement combined with clean, high quality water, in a temperature and light regulated facility are the most commonly employed methods for disease prevention.

Transfer of sweet pepper genes coding for ferredoxin like protein and defensin was shown to reduce D. dadantii disease in Phalaenopsis orchids under cultivation.