Comparison of the effectiveness of five extraction methods for Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. sepedonicus and Ralstonia solanacearum from potato tubers

In the EU Control Directives, the recommended extraction procedure for testing potatoes for Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. sepedonicus and Ralstonia solanacearum comprises incubation followed by differential centrifugation. This method can be qualified as complex because of the number of different steps required. This study evaluates five different extraction methods for each bacterium from both a technical point of view and for the quality of the results. Results showed that in the case of C. m. sepedonicus the clarification step should be avoided. The incubation/shaking method with three subsamples gives at least as satisfactory results as the official EU procedure. It also has other advantages, facilitating immunofluorescence readings due to the reduced quantity of plant debris, and improving the speed and the reliability of the analysis.