Objective  This paper aims to select Asiatic lilies with strong resistance to Botrytis elliptica, the resistance of some Tiger and Pearl series Asian lilies and Lilium davidii var. unicolor to B. elliptica was evaluated, and the physiological mechanism of resistance was preliminarily explored.

  Method  The disease resistance of different cultivars or species was evaluated by ex vivo leaf inoculation. On this basis, the physiological changes of selected disease-resistant and susceptible cultivars after inoculation were determined.

  Result  The comprehensive evaluation results showed that: (1) the resistance of Tiger, Pearl lilies and L. davidii var. unicolor to B. elliptica was different. Relatively strong resistance to B. elliptica was ‘Pearl Melanie’, which belonged to the medium resistance level. The weakest resistance materials were ‘Pearl Justin’, L. davidii var. unicolor, ‘Pearl White’ and ‘White Twinkle’. (2) There was no significant correlation between resistance level and stomatal density, stomatal size. (3) The physiological responses of the resistant cultivar ‘Pearl Melanie’ and susceptible cultivar ‘Pearl Justin’ were obviously different after inoculation. The content of MDA showed an increasing trend with the extension of inoculation time, while the activities of oxalate oxidase and chitinase gradually increased, and the activities of β-1,3-glucanase decreased with time. The MDA content of the resistant cultivars was relatively lower than susceptible cultivar, and the activities of oxalate oxidase and chitinase were higher than susceptible cultivar.

  Conclusion  There is no significant correlation between stomatal characteristics and disease resistance, the physiological mechanism of lillies with distinct disease resistance is different. During the physiological response, MDA content, oxalate oxidase activity and chitinase activity can be used as evaluation indexes for evaluating Asiatic lilies for resistance to B. elliptica.