A new and effective method to induce infection of Phyllachora maydis into corn for tar spot studies in controlled environments

Table 5 Experimental location, time to first stroma, infection success, and counts of Phyllachora maydis stromata

Experiment	Location	Average time to first stroma	Plants †, ‡	Total infected leaves	Total stromata *
1	Greenhouse	12	10	25	118	bcd
	Growth chamber	12	4	7	68	abc
2	Greenhouse	12	51	70	192	d
	Growth chamber	12	21	47	428	a
3	Greenhouse	12	42	99	928	ab
4	Greenhouse	11	27	27	82	cd

Data collected after inoculation using the new method
† 3 to 4 leaves were inoculated per plant in experiments 1 to 3 and 1 leaf per plant was inoculated in experiment 4
‡100% of inoculated plants developed stromata. In experiment 4, tar spot was not induced in plants inoculated with spores from dried leaves
*Different letters represent statistical differences among experimental group conditions (Tukey’s Honestly Significant Difference, P < 0.05). Control groups are not included since stromata did not form in them

ISSN: 1746-4811