Disease Note.

Long-Term Storage of Eutypa lata, the Cause of an Important Dieback Disease of Apricot and Grape. M. V. Carter, P.O. Box 609, Normanville, South Australia 5204. H. English, Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis 95616. Plant Dis. 78:09251. Accepted for publication 6 June 1994. Copyright 1994 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-78-0925D.

Plant pathologists have sought a method more convenient than the complex traditional procedures for long-term storage of fungal cultures. Indeed, some fungi do not survive well when stored by traditional methods. The use of sterile distilled water (SDW) as a storage medium was proposed by Boesewinkel (1) and tested with positive results by de Capriles et al (2) on 116 fungal species, mostly human or animal pathogens. Believing that this simple method of storage is not widely known among our plant pathology colleagues, we report the experience of one of us (M. V. Carter) in storing cultures of the important ascomycete pathogen Eutypa lata (Pers.:Fr.) Tul. & C. Tul. The technique used was that described by Boesewinkel (I). In 1992, one mycelial and 15 single-ascospore isolates of E. lata that had been stored in SDW, mostly at 10 C, for 6 yr (three isolates), 7 yr (three), 8 yr (five), 11 yr (four), or 12 yr (one) were retrieved from SDW storage. When cultured on potato-dextrose agar, all 16 produced normal, vigorous growth within 6 days. We therefore conclude that this fungus may be safely stored by this inethod for at least 12 yr. Further reports of the longevity of this and other fungi thus stored would be useful.