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Cryogenic Storage of Conidia of Sclerospora sorghi. Anne W. Gale, Biological Laboratory Technician, Plant Disease Research Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 1209, Frederick, MD 21701; C. G. Schmitt(2), and K. R. Bromfield(3). (2)(3)Research Plant Pathologists, respectively, Plant Disease Research Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 1209, Frederick, MD 21701. Phytopathology 65:828-829. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-65-828.

Conidia of Sclerospora sorghi were suspended in 10 or 15% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and cooled to –30 C at 1 C per minute in a Linde BF-4-1 Biological Freezer. After storage for 7 days in the cold gas phase of liquid nitrogen, suspensions were quickly thawed, and the DMSO was washed out. Conidia sprayed on seedlings of Sorghum bicolor in dew consistently produced infections in a high percentage of plants.