Potato blackleg and soft rot diseases caused by Pectobacterium and Dickeya species and suecies are considered to be the most destructive bacterial diseases of potato worldwide. For a long time, Pectobacterium caratovorujm su. carotovorum and P . atrosepticum were known as the main agents of potato soft rot and blackleg diseases. In recent years, however; the significant prevalence of D. solani and P. carotovorum su. brasiliense (Pcb) in soft rotted potato samples implied the important role of these bacteria to cause potato blackleg and soft rot diseases, probably due to global warming. Despite the widespread presence of various species of Pectobacterium . and Dickeya . in potato farms of Iran, there was no evidence for spread of D. solani and P. carotovorum su. brasiliense in field potatoes of Isfahan province. To determine the regional incidence of D. solani and P. carotovorum su. brasiliense , surveys conducted in potato grown area of Isfahan province during June - October, 2019 and stem, root and tuber samples with symptoms of blackleg and soft rot were collected from the visited farms. After isolating bacteria from symptomatic potato organs, the isolates were characterized by pectolytic, biochemical and molecular tests to differentiate the strains belonged to Pectobacteria. The rep-PCR fingerprinting with BOX IR and ERIC2F/ERIC1R primer sets was used for genotypic characterization of the Pectobacteria isolates collected in this study in comparison with reference strains of Pectobacterium . and Dickeya . Combined fingerprinting analysis classified the isolates into eight groups. Further characterization of the isolates in each group, using PCR assays with specific primer pairs including Y1/Y2, ADE1/ADE2, ECA1f/ECA2R, BR1f/L1R, PwaF/PwaR, for Pectobacterium and Dickeya species and suecies in combination of biochemical tests, revealed that out of 84 bacterial strains isolated from symptomatic potato plants in this study, 13 strains were identified as P. carotovorum su. brasiliense , 3 strains D. solani , 42 strains P. carotovorum su. carotovorum, 17 strains P. wasabie and 6 strains Dickeya . The remaining three isolates yet to be identified as their characteristics did not match with any described species of genera Pectobacterium or Dickeya . In order to determine the differences in pectolytic activity of the species identified in this study, in vitro potato slice rot tests of the representative strains of species were conducted at different incubation temperatures: 5?, 15?, 28?, 37? and 39?. All examined species and suecies exhibited pectolytic activities at various temperatures, although there were certain variation between the species and also among the isolates of each species. Due to lack of species–specific primer pair for the distinctive identification of D. Solani , based on a sequence of a unique 950 bp fragment amplified in D. solani in ERIC2F/ERIC1R fingerprinting, a specific primer pair were designed to amplify a single and reproducible 895 bp band in D. solani strains. The application of a series of PCR tests confirmed the specificity and sensitivity of the primer pair for exclusive diagnosis of D. solani strains. Apparently, the proposed PCR assay demonstrated to be a quick and reliable method for detection and distinguishing D. solani from other Pectobacteria. Keywords : soft rot, blackleg, D. solani , P. carotovorum su. brasiliense, primer design, specific primer pair, pectolytic activity