A NEW ROOT ROT OF FLORISTS' CHRYSANTHEMUMS IN ONTARIO
An apparently undescribed root rot of Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat. occurred in 1953 on the horticultural variety "White Shasta" in an Ontario greenhouse. The disease was characterized by a severe root rot, general stunting and a foliar chlorosis and necrosis. A species of the form genus Phoma was found associated with the roots of affected plants. The disease has been reproduced repeatedly by inoculation with monoconidal cultures of the fungus. Symptoms appear to be most severe on plants growing in infested soil maintained at temperatures between 55° and 60°F. Inoculation tests suggest that the disease is restricted to the florists' chrysanthemum. Varieties of C. morifolium do, however, vary widely in their susceptibility to this root rot. There is no evidence that the pathogen is carried within cuttings taken from infected plants. Both steam sterlization and methyl bromide fumigation have completely eliminated the pathogen from infested soils.