Effective, Consistent, and Rapid Noncontact Application Methods for Seedling Basal Stem Infection by .

(Lib.) de Bary, an economically devastating soilborne fungal pathogen known to cause disease across a wide range of plants, produces long-term inoculum called sclerotia that can germinate either carpogenically by ascospores infecting aboveground plant parts or myceliogenically to infect stem base and roots. Typically, for research purposes, diseases are initiated by direct contact methods, using mycelium agar plugs wrapped around the stem or sclerotia placed directly beneath root mass.