Identification of Botrytis spp. on Plants Grown in Iran

A total of 363 isolates were collected from all over Iran. They were isolated from apple, arum lily, briar rose, bride wort, broad bean, camellia, canola, carnation, cucumber, egg plant, feijoa, geranium, gerbera, gladiolus, grape, guilder rose, hibiscus, iris, kiwifruit, oleander, onion, orange, pear, pomegranate, primrose, quince, redbud, robinia, rose, rubber plant, sow thiste, spathe flower, strawberry, tomato, violet, wall flower and wheat. To identify the species, morphological characters such as conidiophore length, conidial and sclerotial dimensions were measured. According to morphological and cultural characters, eight Botrytis species were identified: B. aclada sensu lato, B. cinerea, B. fabae, B. convoluta, B. gladiolorum, B. paeoniae, B. pelargonii and B. porri. As far as we are aware, this is the first report of the last five species from Iran. These species were examined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using necrosis and ethylene-inducing protein (NEP2) and C729 primers. A 835 bp band was amplified in B. cinerea, B. fabae and B. pelargonii, using NEP2, but not in others. However, C729 primers amplified a 700 bp band in B. cinerea and B. pelargonii and a 600 bp in B. fabae