Occurrence of Narcissus Smoulder Caused by Botrytis narcissicola in Korea

Leaf blight and bulb rot symptoms were observed on narcissus plants grown in Yongin, Cheongwon and Namhae areas in Korea during disease survey from 1999 to 2002. A total of 15 isolates of Botrytis sp. were obtained from the infected plant parts of narcissus. All the isolates were identified as Botrytis narcissicola based on their morphological and cultural characteristics. Three isolates of B. narcissicola were tested for their pathogenicity to leaves and bulbs of narcissus by artificial inoculation. All the isolates induced leaf blight and bulb rot symptoms on the plants of narcissus by artificial inoculation. The symptoms induced by artificial inoculation were similar to those observed in the fields. This is the first report of narcissus smoulder caused by B. narcissicola in Korea.