Control of Sclerotinia diseases
Sclerotinia diseases cause major losses in many horticultural crops (eg lettuce, beans, carrots, brassicas and peas). Intense cropping and the use of Sclerotinia-susceptible crops in rotations have led to a build-up of Sclerotinia in the soil. The factsheet details non-chemical control options (eg biocontrol agents, biofumigant green manure Brassica crops), cultural strategies (eg rotation with crops that are more tolerant to the organism), soil amendment strategies and improvements in fungicide use, which when used together in an integrated management program have the potential to contribute to sustainable control of Sclerotinia lettuce drop and other diseases caused by Sclerotinia in susceptible vegetable crops. At the time of publication (2005), boscalid fungicide was stated to be a suitable replacement for a fungicide that had recently been withdrawn from use. It is up to users to ensure that chemicals they plan to use on their crops are currently registered or permitted for the intended use.