ABSTRACT
Plant pathogenic bacteria, like all other living organisms, require basic nutrients, for the sustenance of life. The food material on which bacteria are grown in the laboratory is known as a culture medium and the growth itself is called a culture. The selective media are those that permit the growth of some specific group or type of organisms while preventing, retarding, or inhibiting the growth of others, thus facilitating bacterial isolation. A differential medium is that which will cause certain colonies to develop differentially from other organisms present by producing a characteristic change in the bacterial growth or the medium surrounding the colonies. Most plant pathogenic bacteria grow on nutrient sucrose agar medium. However, some species and pathovars require certain ingredients in the medium and thus require a “special medium” for their growth. The media slants are used to subculture and maintain the bacterial cultures. It is always easy and safe to maintain the bacterial cultures on media slants.
