Method to diagnose latent infection by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Glomerella cingulata</Emphasis> in strawberry plants using ethanol

Signs on strawberry leaves with latent infection by Glomerella cingulata became visible by a simple diagnostic method using ethanol immersion treatment (SDEI). Leaves treated with SDEI changed to dark brown or nearly black, and salmon-pink conidial masses were subsequently produced in the acervuli 5–10 days after incubation in moist petri dishes. The formation rate of conidial masses through SDEI was higher as the position of the leaves became lower. Conidial masses were produced more readily and abundantly when SDEI was performed at 28°C than at 22°, 25°, or 31°C. Latent infection was found to last 1–180 days. There was no difference in the time required for conidial production or in the rate of conidial formation regardless of isolate, cultivar, or leaf position. The varietal difference in resistance to strawberry anthracnose did not influence the rate of conidial mass formation after SDEI. SDEI is thus useful for detecting latent infections during the process of selecting disease-free plants.