Complementary bacterial enrichment techniques for the detection ofPseudomonas syringae pv.tomato andXanthomonas campestris pv.vesicatoria in infested tomato and pepper seeds

A scheme for routine seed testing forXanthomonas campestris pv.vesicatoria andPseudomonas syringae pv.tomato in pepper and tomato seeds was developed. The scheme is based on different bacterial enrichment techniques. As few as 1000 and 10–100 colony forming units per gram of seeds were detected using a liquid enrichment technique or leaf enrichment technique, respectively. Relatively large amounts of saprophytes on the seed surfaces did not interfere with the detection of the pathogens.