Sclerotinia stem rot

Caused by: Sclerotinia sclerotiorum
Problem Category: Fungal Disease
Symptoms: Plants rapidly wilting and dying, often without turning yellow; as plants dry out they may turn straw yellow in color; small black fungal bodies (sclerotia) may be present on the surface of the root just below the soil line together with white fluffy mycelium; water soaked lesions may be present on the stem in Spring; infected tissues dry out and may become covered in white mycelium
Comments: Disease emergence favors very wet weather conditions; disease is usually introduced to non-infected areas by infected seed
Management: Plant only certified seed; if disease is known to present rotate crops with non-hosts such as cereals; if problem is severe then a 4 year rotation away from susceptible plants may be required; there are no seed treatments or fungicides available to treat the disease
Control: spray 2 times 10% Cowdung+Asafoetida solution in 10 days interval to control stem rot