Abstract

Gray mold rot of perilla was epidemic at Kangdong, Pusan and Miryang, Kyungnam in 1997 and 1998. The incidence of this disease ranged form 21.3 to 68.1% at Kangdong area. Leaf necrosis initially appeared on the edge of the infected leaves, and it was developed to the center of the leaves forming typical V-shaped brown necrotic lesions. Under high moisture condition, abundant mycelia of the pathogen was formed on the surface of the lesions. Infected stems became slender and were completely blighted up to the top of the plant. Two isolates, LVF12 and SD7, were isolated from diseased lesions showing typical symptoms, and the pathogenicity was tested using mycelial disks and conidial suspension inoculation. The developed symptoms were same as the naturally produced ones. These two pathogenic fungi were identified as Botrytis cinerea based on the morphological characteristics using a microscope and a scanning electron microscope, and cultural characteristics. This is the first report of gray mold or perilla in Korea.

Keywords

• Botryits cinerea;
• gray mold rot;
• perilla;
• identification.