AN INEXPENSIVE DISEASE SCREENING TECHNIQUE FOR FOLIAR BLIGHT OF CHILE PEPPER SEEDLINGS

An inexpensive, rapid, and reliable seedling screening technique was developed to identify sources of resistance to foliar blight of Capsicum annuum L. caused by the fungal pathogen Phytophthora capsici Leon. Leaf surfaces of test plants were inoculated with 500 to 1000 zoospores prepared in distilled water. Seedlings were incubated for 5 days in an easy-to-construct dew chamber and observed for symptom development. 'Criollo de Morelos 334' chile seedlings, a Mexican land race resistant to root rot caused by the same fungal pathogen, were highly resistant to foliar blight. All commercial cultivars tested in this study, however, were highly susceptible. No root rot symptoms were observed in any of the foliar-inoculated plants.