An Outbreak of Gray Mold Caused by Botrytis cinerea on Kenaf(Hibiscus cannabinus L.)

A severe outbreak of gray mold on kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) was observed on kenaf grown in the research field of Gyeongsangnam-do Agricultural Research and Extension Services, Jinju, Korea in 2014. Gray mold appeared on young plants as gray-brown velvety mold covering stems and leaves. Infections that girdled the stem caused wilting above the infected area and developed a canker. The casual fungus formed grayish brown colonies on potato dextrose agar. The conidia were one celled, mostly ellipsoid or ovoid in shape, colorless or pale brown in color, and 6-18 × 4-10 ㎛ in size. The conidiophores were 15-32 ㎛ in length. These measurements and taxonomic characteristics were most similar to those of Botrytis. DNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the complete internal transcribed spacer rRNA gene region confirmed that the fungal isolates were indeed Borytis cinerea. Koch's postulates were supported by pathogenicity tests conducted on healthy plants. On the basis of mycological characteristics and pathogenicity test on host plants, the fungus was identified as Botrytis cinerea. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a gray mold caused by B. cinerea on kenaf in Korea.