THE EFFECT OF LIGHT AND TEMPERATURE ON THE GROWTH AND RESPIRATION OF BOTRYTIS SQUAMOSA

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Abstract
The fungus organism Botrytis squamosa Walker when maintained at constant temperature is unaffected by light levels as high as 100 ft-c for periods of several days and by levels of 250 ft-c for periods of a few hours. This is contrary to an earlier report which said that an illuminance of 70 ft-c would prevent growth of the organism. It is suspected that a combination of undetected temperature gradients and the variability of the organism lead to the earlier report of a light inhibition.The organism is temperature sensitive. No growth occurred at, or beyond, 30 °C. Maximum growth occurred at 23 °C, the lowest temperature used in the investigations.While all portions of the mycelial mass evolve some carbon dioxide, the most active evolution is generally around the circumference. Variations in age and circumference accounted for a considerable portion of the variability in the carbon dioxide evolution.Measuring techniques involved the use of thermocouples, a radiation thermopile and photronic cell, and an infrared gas analyzer.