Assessment of infection and/or contamination of Resecoco GLP - 2 bean seed by Pseudomonas syringae pv. in Kenya.

Abstract

Detection of cortaminant and infectious P. syringae pv. Phaseolicola was carried out using the dilution plate method in bean seed samples collected from farmers in Kisii, Nyeri and Meru districts, Kenya. Certified commercial and disease-free samples were included in the study. Confirmatory tests of the pathogen identity were carried out. Determination of bean seeds was carried out using bean seed samples from small scale farmers and the certified commercial been seed sample. The estimated infection levels were determined by applying the most probable number method to the results of the dilution planting assays. Only 14% of the bean samples were free of the halo blight pathogen both on the surface and inside. Of these, half had the pathogen on the surface only and the rest had both internal and contaminant infections by P. syringae pv. phaseolicola. The bacterium was detected as an internal infectant only in certified commercial bean seeds. The infection levels in farmers seeds varied from 0.1 to 1% as compared to 0.3% for certified was determined in a green house study and found to be approximately 1:1.