The significance of soil and/or rhisosphere populations of Erwinia carotovora sobsp. carotovora (Ecc) as a source of primary inoculum for tobacco hollow stalk disease has been demonstrated conclusively. The survival of Ecc in field soils fter overwintering was estimated by using the enrichment technique. The population number of pectolytic erwinia (PE) in field soils relatively decreased at the rate of 102-104 colony forming unit(CFU) per g of soil after overwintering. Higher level of PE population overwintered in the rhlzosphere foils of tobacco stubbles and detected more frequently in rhizosphere soils of weed plants than in those of bare fields. All of the tobacco stubbles collected from fields where tobacco had been grown the previous year contained Ecc. The more survived population number of PE at the 30cm depth of artifitiany infested soils than at the upper of those by introducing with diseased tobacco plant tissue after overwintering. Ecc overwintered effectively in rhizosphere soils of tobacco stubbles, overwintered weeds and tobacco debris in field soils.