The development of upper leaf necrosis in Lilium 'Star Gazer'

A necrotic disorder occurs on upper leaves of many oriental hybrid lily (Lilium L.) cultivars, including the most-widely-grown 'Star Gazer'. We term this disorder "upper leaf necrosis" (ULN) and hypothesize that it is a calcium (Ca) deficiency. We demonstrated that Ca concentration in necrosed tissues was nearly six-fold below that of normal leaves (0.10% vs. 0.57% dry weight), and that Ca concentration was negatively associated with percentage necrosed leaf area. It was concluded that ULN is a Ca deficiency disorder. When the symptoms were slight, early ULN symptoms appeared as tiny depressed spots on the lower surface of the leaf, or as water-soaked areas when the disorder was severe. Most commonly, ULN began on the leaf margin. The injured areas turned brown, leading to leaf curling, distortion, or tip death. ULN occurred on leaves associated with flower buds and leaves immediately below the flower buds. For the plants grown from 16-18 cm circumference bulbs, the five leaves directly below the flower buds and larger leaves associated with the 1st and the 2nd flower buds were most susceptible. In general, flower buds were not affected by ULN, and continued to develop and flower normally, even though they were associated with subtending, highly distorted leaves. Eighty-five percent of plants began to exhibit ULN symptoms 30-40 days after planting (i.e., 24-34 days after shoot emergence). This was the stage when the 6th or 7th leaf under the bottom flower bud was just unfolded. Light was not the main factor that initiated ULN, however, ULN severity was greatly increased by light reduction, as leaf transpiration was reduced.