Morphological and molecular identification of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. narcissi on poet’s daffodil (Narcissus poeticus L.) in Serbia

Abstract

In autumn 2018, daffodil (narcissus) plants with basal bulb rot were noticed in a plantation in locality Jasika, Serbia. Morphological characterization identified Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. narcissi as the causal agent of bulb rot in daffodil. Three selected isolates were tested for their ability to produce symptoms on daffodil bulbs. Two weeks after artificial inoculation typical symptoms of basal rot developed on inoculated bulbs from which the pathogen was re-isolated fulfilling Koch’s postulates. To further identify the pathogen, a molecular characterization with sequence and phylogenetic analysis of ITS and TEF1 genomic regions was performed. Molecular characterization confirmed the obtained results in morphological identification. The detection of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. narcissi, a causal agent of basal rot on daffodil in Serbia, is the first report of this pathogen in the country.