Abstract
Leaf tissues from whorl areas of sweet corn plants inoculated with P. alboprecipitans were prepared for scanning electron microscopy. The bacterium was detected in stomata and substomatal cavities of corn leaves after corn-plant whorls were exposed to inocula for 160-320 min. Although stomata were manipulated successfully with 10-4 M abscisic acid, the partial closure of stomata prior to inoculation did not affect significantly the amount of leaf damage due to the bacterium. Bacteria were observed frequently in the basinlike depressions surrounding closed stomata. Closed as well as open stomata in whorl areas could serve as portals of ingress for the small (0.57 .times. 1.5 .mu.m) rod-shaped cells.

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