Sorghum ergot, caused by Claviceps africana, has remained a major disease problem in Australia since it was first recorded in 1996, and is the focus of a range of biological and integrated management research. Artificial inoculation using conidial suspensions is an important tool in this research. Ergot infection is greatly influenced by environmental factors, so it is important to reduce controllable sources of variation such as inoculum concentration. The use of optical density was tested as a method of quantifying conidial suspensions of C. africana, as an alternative to haemocytometer counts. This method was found to be accurate and time efficient, with possible applications in other disease systems. © Australasian Plant Pathology Society 2006.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Research Division:	Agricultural, Veterinary and Food Sciences
Research Group:	Crop and pasture production
Research Field:	Crop and pasture protection (incl. pests, diseases and weeds)
Objective Division:	Plant Production and Plant Primary Products
Objective Group:	Grains and seeds
Objective Field:	Oats
UTAS Author:	Foster, S (Dr Scott Foster)
ID Code:	39697
Year Published:	2006
Web of Science® Times Cited:	2
Deposited By:	Agricultural Science
Deposited On:	2006-08-01
Last Modified:	2007-05-11
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