| Summary: | The development of Botrytis cinerea was assessed on six cultivars of common poinsettia, differing in the colour of bracts, and being in great demand among buyers of these ornamental plants. Resistance to this pathogen differed in the investigated poinsettias. Cultivar 'Malibu Red' (red bracts) turned out to be most susceptible, while cv. 'Marblestar' (cream-pink) and cv. 'Coco White' (white) - relatively resistant to this fungus. After application of various inoculation methods (leaf discs, cut off leaves, whole plants) the differences in resistance to B. cinerea were confirmed for two extreme cultivars - susceptible ('Malibu Red') and resistant ('Coco White'), which indicated genetic background of this polymorphism. The rate of disease development on poinsettia leaves was affected by the amount of spores used for inoculation (optimum density of 3.5·105 B. cinerea conidia / ml suspension) and the addition of stimulants (0.1 M glucose with 0.05 M KH2PO4), which facilitated germination and infection of the host tissue. The inoculated poinsettia leaves showed high stability of plasma membranes. In the susceptible cultivar, in spite of the development of necrotic spots, a significant increase in the membrane damage index (by 13%) was found only on day 7 of the disease development.
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