CARNATION WILT DISEASES 5 



An Alternaria disease of carnations has been prevalent at San Remo and Porto 

 Maurizio, Italy, and in Sicily (3, 13, 50, 66). The pathogenicity of the fungus was 

 established. It was designated Altentaria diaiithi with, however, no satisfactory 

 degree of confirmation. 



Sorauer (57) reported a spotting and blighting of carnations in Germany 

 associated with attacks of an Alternaria fungus. Death of carnation flower buds 

 in Czechoslovakia is reported to be due to Alternaria brassicae Sacc. var. dianthi 

 Zimm. (84). Moesz (47) reported a disease of carnation in Hungary analogous 

 to carnation blight and associated with a fungus regarded as Alternaria dianthi 

 Stev. & Hall. McAlpine (43) described the fungus Alternaria longispora on with- 

 ered portions of carnation leaves at Sydney, Australia. 



In 1927, Corbett (21) in England reported a wilt disease, associated with a 

 brownish basal stem decay, among carnation plants four months from the rooting 

 stage. Inoculation of plants with a spore suspension of the Alternaria fungus 

 produced all of the symptoms characteristic of the disease caused by the fungus 

 Alternaria dianthi. Its introduction into England was unquestionably associated 

 with the importation of infected cuttings from the United States at a time when 

 the disease was prevalent and destructive here. Since the disease has not been 

 reported further, it has apparently not become established (74). 



Table 1. Spore Dimensions of Species of Alternaria and Macrosporium 

 Reported on Members of the Caryophyllaceae. 



Host and Fungus 



Spore Size 

 (Microns) 



Authority 



Dianthus Caryophylhis 



Stevens & Hall, No. Carolina (62) 

 Gingrich*, Indiana 

 Guba, Massachusetts 

 Corbett, England (21) 

 Overholts, Pennsylvania (49) 

 Natural host | 



Synthetic Agar !• Elliot (26) 

 Bean Agar J 



Passalacqua, Italy (50) 



Moesz, Hungary (47) 

 Zimmerman, Czechoslovakia (84) 



McAlpine, Australia (43) 



Bresadola, Italy (8) 



D'Almeida and da Camara, Portugal (2) 



Hume, Florida (35) 



Allescher, Germany (1) 



Vize, England (17, 18) 



Peck, New York (51) 

 Young (83) 



Fautrey and Lambotte. France (27) 

 Bubak, Switzerland (11) 



♦Original specimen of Alternaria dianthi from Terre Haute, Indiana, deposited in Herbarium, 

 Dept. of Botany, Michigan State College, East Lansing, Michigan. 



