Survival of Bacillus subtilis in Silver and Sugar Maple Seedlings over a Two-Year Period. T. J. Hall, Assistant Professor, School of Agriculture, Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville 38505. W. E. Edgar Davis, Horticulturist, School of Agriculture, Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville 38505. Plant Dis. 74:608-609. Accepted for publication 23 January 1990. Copyright 1990 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-74-0608.

One-year-old seedlings of Acer saccharinum (silver maple) and A. saccharum (sugar maple) that were inoculated with a Rifampicin-resistant strain of Bacillus subtilis were found to contain bacteria resembling B. subtilis after 12 and 24 mo. After 2 yr, the bacteria were recovered from the xylem tissue located 30–72 cm and 5–54 cm from the inoculated site in silver and sugar maple, respectively. Therefore, B. subtilis, a potential antagonist to Verticillium dahliae, can survive and be transported into newly formed xylem tissue of silver and sugar maple trees.

Keyword(s): Verticillium wilt.