Symptoms of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum on Solanaceae

• Organs attacked :

• Symptoms :
  • Damping off, collar lesions on seedlings and seedling collapse.
  • Elongated lesions on stems  initiated from senescent or injured tissues (aborted fruits, tendrils, floral parts, senescent leaves, pruning and various wounds...). These can be localized near the collar or distributed along the length of the stems. They appear moist and dark at first, then become necrotic and take on a beigeish and brown hue, and end up encircling them for several centimeters (figures 1 to 4).
  • The distal part of the girdled twigs, the leaves may turn yellow, wither and dry out (Figures 5 and 6).
  • Wet, soft and dark rot developing on the fruits, at the level of the stylar scar or in contact with the ground. It spreads rapidly and gradually generalizes; the fruits eventually shrivel up and/or collapse more or less totally (figure 7).
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• Signs : more or less fluffy and white mycelium  on all affected tissues (figure 7), as well as large irregular black structures, sclerotia which are  rather elongated, measuring 2-20 mm x 3-7 (figures 1 and 8). Small “trumpets”, apothecia, forming on the larger sclerotia.
• Possible confusion : Sclerotium rolfsii , Rhizoctonia solani aerial,

• Affected production areas :