The use of polymerase chain reaction to detect latent infection of Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis in tomato seedlings

A method was developed for routine analysis to detect latent infection of Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis in samples from tomato seedling lots, before transplant, using polymerase chain reaction. In samples of 300 stem segments 1 cm long, the sensitivity threshold of the method was estimated at around 1.1 × 10³ corynebacteria or 0.33% of latently infected stems. This method was shown to have a good specificity.