Fungi occurring on the bulbs of grape hyacinth (Muscari armeniacum) grown near Puławy

Abstract

The research study was carried out in the years 2009–2011 on grape hyacinth (Muscari armeniacum Lechtlin ex Baker) and his double-flowered cultivar – ‘Blue Spike’, grown on plantation of 2 ar area near Puławy. The healthiness of bulbs was estimated after digging by taking out 100 bulbs from randomly chosen case and assessing their disease index according to 5-degree scale. Subsequently, bulbs showing disease symptoms were taken for mycological analysis in laboratory of University of Life Sciences in Lublin. In the research time bulb disease index values of M. armeniacum ranged from 2.75 to 3.75 but M. armeniacum cultivar ‘Blue Spike’ from 5.25 to 9.75. Among fungi isolated from diseased bulbs, species: Penicillium hirsutum var. hirsutum and Fusarium oxysporum dominated. The latter species was isolated more frequently from the bulbs of ‘Blue Spike’ cultivar. On the bulbs, from which species Penicillium hirsutum var. hirsutum was isolated, on the outer scales were observed slightly sunken, brown lesions with darker margin covered with green rash of mycelium and fungus sporulation. On the bulbs, from which F. oxysporum was isolated, there were observed cracking of scales, dry rot of scale base and inner soft rot of bulbs progressing from bulb neck and scale base resulting in mumification of necrotic tissue. Another fungi species less frequently isolated from bulbs of grape hyacinth were: Geotrichum candidum, Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus niger and fungi belonging to genus Trichoderma.