Sclerotinia blight is one of the important diseases of solanaceous crops. It is caused by the fungi of the genus Sclerotinia. The characteristic symptom of this disease is the presence of white fluffy mycelial growth at the point of infection which later turns into black and hard sclerotia.

1. Prepared by:
Binita Suwal
Sclerotinia Blight in
Solanaceous Crops

2. Introduction
 Etiology: Sclerotinia sclerotiorum Sclerotinia minor
Sclerotinia trifolium
 Hyaline, septate, multinucleated and thin walled hyphae
 Soil borne and necrotrophic pathogen
 Host: Legumes, Sunflowers, tobacco, stone fruits, tomatoes and
other vegetables
 Also known as: Cottony rot, white mold, watery soft rot, stem rot,
crown rot, blossom blight, Sclerotinia rot

3. Symptoms
 Appearance of a white fluffy mycelial growth in infected plant parts
 Later, develops into large, compact resting bodies or Sclerotia
Aerial infection
• Lesions appear as a water soaked spots that expands irregularly and
indeterminately.
• Affected stems may be girdled, which cause the distal portions of the
plant to wilt and then become necrotic.
• White thick fluffy mycelium develops often both inside and outside the
tissue.
• The cottony hyphae aggregates into pea-sized clumps of mycelium
which eventually matures into hard black Sclerotia
• During later stage, the plant tissues appears bleached as compared to
normally senescing plant.

4. Symptoms
Basal stem infection
• Occurs when these pathogen infects roots, and/or crown by hyphal or
myceliogenic, germination of soil borne sclerotia.
• Tissues near the soil line shows the symptoms.
• As the infection spreads, a girdling, basal stem canker is formed
within bleached and shredded pith.
• White cottony mycelium develops on the infected stem surface
during the wet weather.
• Then it spreads to the flowers, petioles, leaves, and stems. The fruit
can also be infected, turn grey, and rot.

5. Symptoms
Appearance of stem blight
near the soil line and the
plant start to wilt.
Appearance of white
fluffy mycelium in
which Sclerotia
develops in later stage.

6. Disease Cycle and Epidemiology
 Primary source of inoculum: Sclerotia
 Sclerotia can remain viable in soil for many years.
 Infestation is high in the areas with high soil moisture, high air
humidity and cool temperature
 Sclerotia germinates and produce white mycelium that cause
infection
 Under low temperature (20-25°C) and RH > 80%, Sclerotia
germinates and produce apothecia.
 Ascospore are disseminated by wind.
 Other source of infection: broad leaf weeds, Internally infected seed
or inadequately cleaned seed, mass movement, contaminated
machinery, crop debris

8. Management
 Proper disposal of crop debris.
 Proper drainage
 Practice 3-5 year long crop rotation with non hosts such as maize, wheat.
 Deep ploughing and Soil solarization to reduce soil borne inoculum
 Plant only certified seed free of Sclerotia and infested seed.
 Use only resistance variety
 Avoid excessive irrigation and Nitrogen fertilization.
 Sclerotia can be separated by mixing in brine solution.
 Application and incorporation of the beneficial fungus Coniothyrium minitans
that infects Sclerotia by reducing their survival, germination and apothecia
formation.
 Use of Biocare–F and Biocare-B
 Spray Bavistin to check spread of the disease.