testing seedlings for fireblight?

[chickenlittle]

Does anyone know how if there is a cost-effective way for a hobby breeder to test seedlings for fireblight or other diseases? I have seen images of it being done in breeding programs but I'm not sure if the solutions are available to a hobby breeder or are affordable. It looks like an effective way to eliminate susceptible genetics if starting trees from seed.

In this presentation on the Cornell Geneva rootstock development, they show them pouring a fireblight culture on a bunch of seedlings and then a photo of the survivors that they continue to work with.
http://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFile...ghthedevelopmentofimprovedapplerootstocks.pdf

 

[DeerfieldApples]

If you knew of an active fire blight canker in the spring you could collect the ooze and mix it with water, and then spray the solution over seedlings with cut leaves. Here's the thing though, the bacteria is usually found in orchards at some sort of level, its presence alone is not enough for an infection. It takes a rain during bloom with high enough populations on flowers or trauma to trigger an infection. (Winds that shred leaves, hail, ect). The above photo might work due to being greenhouse grown and the plants not developing a thick cuticle layer they would being outdoors. I would think you would have to create some trauma on the plant to give you better odds of testing true resistance. Even then, you will have to repeat the testing process multiple times.