Use of three inoculation methods in screening cowpea genotypes for resistance to two Colletotrichum species

Twelve cowpea cultivars were screened for reactions to infection by Colletotrichum lindemuthianum and C. truncatum, causal agents of anthracnose and brown blotch diseases, respectively. Three different inoculation techniques were used: spraying a spore suspension on leaves of seedlings, injecting a spore suspension into stems, and wrapping wounded seedlings with inoculum meal of Colletotrichum spp was the best method of inoculation because it produced optimal conditions for infection and disease development.