Botrytis cinerea causes flower gray mold in Gastrodia elata in China.

Gastrodia elata Blume is a valuable Chinese herbal medicine. G. elata flower tissue with symptoms of gray mold was collected in June 2021 at the G. elata breeding base in Dejiang County and Qixingguan County, Guizhou Province. Botrytis cinerea was isolated from the symptomatic flowers, and the fungus was identified based on morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analyses of the ITS, HSP60, and RPB2 sequences. The pathogenicity test revealed B. cinerea as responsible for causing flower gray mold identified on G. elata. To our knowledge, this is the first report of B. cinerea causing gray mold in G. elata flowers. These findings thus provide a basis for further research on the management of flower gray mold of G. elata. • Gastrodia elata Blume is a valuable Chinese herbal medicine. • G elata is well-distributed throughout China and contributes highly to the economy. • G elata is affected by tuber rot disease, fungal infections, white sclerosis etc. • We identified gray mold in G elata at the flowering stage. • Ours is the first study to report the causative agent as Botrytis cinerea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]