Sclerotinia white mold or crown rot infesting your garden? Natural, effective, non-chemical solution
This fungus is a genus of fungi in the family Sclerotiniaceae. The widely distributed genus contains 14 species.
Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is a plant pathogenic fungus and can cause a disease called white mold if conditions are correct. S. sclerotiorum can also be known as cottony rot, watery soft rot, stem rot, drop, crown rot and blossom blight. A key characteristic of this pathogen is its ability to produce black resting structures known as sclerotia and white fuzzy growths of mycelium on the plant it infects. Common hosts of white mold are herbaceous, succulent plants, particularly flowers and vegetables.
One of the first symptoms noticed is an obvious area of white, fluffy mycelial growth. Usually this is preceded by pale to dark brown lesions on the stem at the soil line. On fruits, the initial d
ark lesions occur on the tissue that comes in contact with the soil. Next, white fungal mycelium covers the fruit and it decays. This can occur when the fruit is in the field or when in storage.
Importance
White mold affects a wide range of hosts. It is known to infect 408 plant species. Its diverse host range and ability to infect plants at any stage of growth makes white mold a very serious disease. The fungus can survive on infected tissues, in the soil, and on living plants. It affects young seedlings, mature plants, and fruits. White mold can spread quickly in the field from plant to plant. It can also spread in a storage facility throughout the harvested crop. Some crops it affects commonly are soybeans, green beans, sunflowers, canola, and peanuts.
The pathogenic fungus proliferates in moist environments. Under moist field conditions, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is capable of completely invading a plant host. Optimal temperatures for growth range from 15 to 21 degrees Celsius. Under wet conditions, it will produce an abundance of mycelium and sclerotia. The fungus can survive in the soil mainly on the previous year’s plant debris. Like most fungi it prefers darker, shadier conditions as opposed to direct exposure to sunlight.
