White mold, caused by the fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) is one of the most damaging diseases of beans. Dissemination of the pathogen by infected seeds is important because it can infest new planting areas and the disease may establish in the beginning of the crop cycle. The present work describes an adaptation of the seed health test using the germination paper towel method, originally developed for the detection of Colletotrichum lindemuthianum, for assessing the presence of S. sclerotiorum in bean seeds. The test consisted of placing bean seeds in germination paper towels, which were rolled and placed in a germination chamber and kept at 100% relative humidity and 20 ºC for seven days. After this period, the infected seedlings and the dead seeds surrounded by a white cottony growth were collected and placed in a gerbox over two wet filter papers. The sclerotia characteristic of the pathogen appeared around the seeds after tree to four days of incubation. This method is relatively rapid, inexpensive, and has the additional advantage of detecting simultaneously other important plant pathogens in bean seeds, such as Colletotrichum lindemuthianum, Macrophomina phaseolina and Rhizoctonia solani.
Phaseolus vulgaris L.; Colletotrichum lindemuthianum; Macrophomina phaseolina; Rhizoctonia solani; white mold