The time from inoculation until permanent wilting (defined as
wilting of all leaves on a plant) was determined by observing the
plants daily until 30 days after inoculation with S. rolfsii. The
number of plants with permanent wilting was later converted to
disease incidence (% symptomatic plants). Plant height was
measured every other day, from the stem base to the most distal
node of the plant. Plant weight was determined as soon as the
shoot had wilted permanently. Shoots were excised at the stem
base and the roots removed from the soil bywashing them with tap
water. Shoots and roots were oven-dried at 80 C for 72 h, followed
by measurement of dry weights