Phytophthora Infestans: Isolation of Pure Cultures, Storage and Inoculum Preparation

Phytophthora infestans causes potato and tomato late blight, economically the most important disease of these plant species. The Oomycete pathogen is frequently sampled, isolated to pure cultures, stored, and characterized. The knowledge of its diversity, migrations and evolution is essential for breeding resistant plants and for designing appropriate control strategies. The article presents methods for collection, storage and preparation of P. infestans isolates for inoculation of plant tissues, based on the publication by Zarzycka (2001), later updated and modified.