Spray inoculation of peach trees or leaves with the plant pathogen Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni. v1

Description: Potted tree experiments and detached leaf assays are used for many purposes, including: observing the effects of a single pathogen on a host cultivar, observing the effects of multiple pathogen interactions on a host cultivar comparing the defense responses and tolerance of different cultivars to pathogen attack. Abstract: South Carolina is the leading peach-producing state in the southeastern United States, where multiple pests and pathogens regularly threaten orchards. Here, we describe a methodology for controlled inoculations of potted peach trees or detached peach leaves with the bacteriumXanthomonas arboricolapv.pruni(Xap). This protocol is used primarily to study interactions between Xap and viruses in peach. To further understand the effects of a bacterial-viral co-infection, detached leaf assays serve as a controlled representation of what happens in the field. Hence, we report developing a Xap-specific spray inoculation method that inoculates a medium directly from bacterial colonies.