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Sclerotinia sclerotiorum – A threat and challenge for crops

Jitendra Sharma*, G.S.Rathore, S. Godika, Suresh Meena, and Chhagan Lal
Published 28-06-2017

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.22573/spg.ijals.017.s12200083

AUTHOR AFFILIATION

Sri Karan Narendra Agriculture University, Jobner-303329

ABSTRACT

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary is a soil borne plant pathogen, capable of infecting more than 500 host plants worldwide. It is a major pathogen that plays a crucial role in reducing the yield in economically important crops. It causes stem & crown rot, wilt, leaf & petiole rot, blossom blight, fruit rot and damping off diseases in crops. The initial mycelia infection at the base of the stem is an appearance of elongated water soaked lesions that expand rapidly. Ascospore infection is quite general and occurs on the other plant parts. Effective pathogenesis by the S. sclerotiorum requires the secretion of oxalic acid and lytic enzymes. Germination of overwintered sclerotia, and release, survival and germination of ascospores are important factors for the development of disease. The capability of sclerotia to survive for more than 5 years, so it becomes very difficult to manage the Sclerotinia diseases. Management of S. sclerotiorum is a major challenge, and the best being the integration of various Measures like, cultural practices, chemical, biological and resistance varieties. The review summarizes current information on morphology, symptomatology, disease cycle and management of the disease. In addition, current research and management strategies to combat S. sclerotiorum also discuss.

ARTICLE HISTORY

Received: Apr 2017 / Accepted: May 2017/ Published: June 2017

COPYRIGHT

© 2017 Skyfox Publishing Group. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

COMPETING INTERESTS

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE

Sharma, J., G.S.Rathore, Godika, S., Meena, S., & Lal, C. (2017). Sclerotinia sclerotiorum – A threat and challenge for crops. Int. J. Agr. Life. Sci, 3(2), 188-194. doi: 10.22573/spg.ijals.017.s12200083.


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