A Newly Recognized Symptom of Sugar Beet Root Infection Caused by Phoma betae. W. M. Bugbee, Research Plant Pathologist, USDA, ARS, Department of Plant Pathology, North Dakota State University, Fargo 58105. H. M. El-Nashaar, Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Plant Pathology, North Dakota State University, Fargo 58105. Plant Dis. 67:101-102. Accepted for publication 7 June 1982. This article is in the public domain and not copyrightable. It may be freely reprinted with customary crediting of the source. The American Phytopathological Society, 1983. DOI: 10.1094/PD-67-101.

A symptom of infection of sugar beet roots by Phoma betae is the black color of vertical growth fissures on the hypocotyl. Standard isolation procedures and surface disinfestation treatments of infected roots showed that tissue penetration by the fungus was shallow and restricted largely to the hypocotyl.