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Improved Detection and Monitoring of Seed-Borne Fungal Plant Pathogens in Europe

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Global Perspectives on the Health of Seeds and Plant Propagation Material

Part of the book series: Plant Pathology in the 21st Century ((ICPP,volume 6))

Abstract

The main goal of seed pathology research and practice is the production and dissemination of high-quality, disease-free seed that maximizes potential crop productivity and value. Presently, the largest part of official seed health tests requires the growth of pathogens (direct methods) but molecular biology offers new tools to diagnose fungal pathogens in/on seeds (indirect methods), reducing the time required by direct methods and improving the output of seed health tests. However, molecular methods suffer some drawbacks and require a more difficult validation procedure than direct methods. This chapter aims at describing the historical context, and the development and implementation of methods for the detection and monitoring of seed-borne plant pathogenic fungi in Europe, with special emphasis on innovative methods.

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Acknowledgements

GV wish to thank Valérie Grimault and Renaud Ioos for the helpful suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Agro-ambientali, Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italy

    Giovanni Vannacci & Sabrina Sarrocco

  2. Istituto Sperimentale per la Patologia Vegetale (Presently CRA-PAV), Rome, Italy

    Angelo Porta-Puglia

Authors
  1. Giovanni Vannacci
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  2. Sabrina Sarrocco
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  3. Angelo Porta-Puglia
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Giovanni Vannacci .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. AGROINNOVA, Università degli Studi di Torino, Grugliasco, Torino, Italy

    Maria Lodovica Gullino

  2. Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA

    Gary Munkvold

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Vannacci, G., Sarrocco, S., Porta-Puglia, A. (2014). Improved Detection and Monitoring of Seed-Borne Fungal Plant Pathogens in Europe. In: Gullino, M., Munkvold, G. (eds) Global Perspectives on the Health of Seeds and Plant Propagation Material. Plant Pathology in the 21st Century, vol 6. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9389-6_6

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