A Rapid Method for Inoculating Pea Seedlings with Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. pisi. W. A. Haglund, Plant Pathologist, Washington State University, Mount Vernon 98273-9788. . Plant Dis. 73:457-458. Accepted for publication 3 January 1989. Copyright 1989 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-73-0457.

The standard and the newly described method of inoculation of pea seedlings were used to determine the pathogenicity of 92 unknown cultures of Fusarium oxysporum isolated from diseased pea stems and cultures of four known races of F. o. f. sp. pisi. Use of either method resulted in nearly identical characterization of unknown cultures and known races. The new method involves growing pea seedlings in Styrofoam trays, which allows six pea seedlings to be inoculated simultaneously. The new method is approximately four times faster than the standard method and is less injurious to the transplanted seedlings.

Keyword(s): Fusarium wilt, Pisum sativum.