Aiming to study the interaction Phytophthora palmivora and pejibaye palm (Bactris gasipaes Kunt.) with the aid of scanning electron microscope (SEM), sections were made of the stem base of pejibaye plants in the sites where six-month-old pejibaye seedlings were inoculated. The inoculation methods used were: i. inoculation with 5 µL drops of zoospore suspension (1x10(6) zoopores/mL); ii. irrigation around the stem base of seedlings, with 5 mL of a suspension of 1 x 10(6) zoospores/mL; and iii. inoculation with a 7-mm-diameter disk of mycelium. Tissue sections were made 6 and 12 hours after inoculation, following the conventional process of fixation, dehydration and metallization steps for SEM. Encysted zoospores and sporangia attached to host epidermis were seen 6 and 12 hours after inoculation, with the pre-infection phase occurring before that stage. Independently of the inoculation method employed, host tissue colonization could be observed in all inoculated plants.
Bactris gasipaes; inoculation methods; scanning electron microscopy
