INFECTION OF NARCISSUS BY BOTRYTIS NARCISSICOLA AND BOTRYTIS CINEREA

Cultures of Botrytis isolated from narcissus were readily identified by their production of sclerotia on potato dextrose agar.
B. narcissicola was isolated most frequently from typical smoulder symptoms.
Infection of narcissus by isolates of B. narcissicola and B. cinerea was investigated using conidial and mycelial inocula on detached leaves and bulb scales.
Only mycelial inocula of B. narcissicola isolates consistently caused spreading lesions.
Conidial inocula of both species typically failed to infect healthy narcissus tissue when inoculated in sterile distilled water but B. narcissicola caused some spreading lesions after tissue damage, in senescent tissue, or following the addition of certain nutrients (including pollen) to inoculum droplets.
In field inoculations tissue wounding was again found to be important for successful infection.
After foliage die back B. narcissicola was isolated from the bulb necks of plants recorded as healthy emergents but developing late season (secondary) infections.
Bulbs inoculated with B. narcissicola and healthy bulbs planted in infested soil both gave rise to infected shoots (primary infections)

III International Symposium on Flower Bulbs

T.M. O’Neill, J.W. Mansfield

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1980.109.57