What Is Lettuce Drop: Recognizing SclerotiniaSymptomsInLettuce. Mary Ellen Ellis's avatar.The symptoms of this disease vary a little depending on the infecting species. Both species cause the lettuce leaves to wilt, beginning with those touching the soil. Main symptoms. Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and S. minor are fungi which cause very similar symptoms on lettuce, after planting and especially when they are headed and near harvest. Lettuce crops can be attacked by several fungal and Oomycete diseases, the principal ones being downy mildew, grey mould and sclerotinia. Other diseases can be very damaging in certain cropping situations, either regularly or occasionally, such as ring spot, powdery mildew and. Sclerotinia minor and S. sclerotiorum are the two pathogens that cause lettuce drop. These species can survive in the soil for two to three years without hosts.Effective Control for Sclerotinia. Symptoms of Sclerotinia. Image: Dr. Lina Quesada, NC State Vegetable Pathology Lab. Sclerotinia minor has a narrow host range that includes lettuce, celery, carrot, Delphinium species, soybean, stock, sunflower, peanut, and a few other plants.Figure 3. Development and symptoms of diseases of vegetables and flowers caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary is a soil-borne pathogen that has more than 408 host plant species, with approximately 106 species found in the Asteraceae family.Lettuce plant with white mold symptoms. How to control. 4 - Sclerotinia on lettuce. Symptoms and damage. Sclerotinia is responsible for moist and light brown color alterations affecting the parts of the plants in contact with the soil and in particular the senescent leaves, then the collar. A new Sclerotinia sp. strain Let-19, isolated from lettuce in central China has been reported by Li, Guo-Qing et al.(2008). The Disease and Symptoms. In: Sclerotinia Diseases of Crop Plants: Biology, Ecology and Disease Management. Symptoms caused by Sclerotinia species could resemble Verticillium wilt, Botrytis crown rot, and Phoma basal rot symptoms. The use of wider, 80-inch beds for lettuce production may cause lettuce drop from S. minor to be more severe because of increased bed moisture. Lettuce with symptoms of basal rot were collected between 2012 and 2014 in the area of Lazarevac. All Sclerotinia isolates obtained from the diseased lettuce were identified as Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, based on morphological and cultural characteristics. Common lettuce mosaic, often referred to simply as mosaic, has been reported from many lettuce areas of the world since it was first recognized as a virus disease and described in Florida in 1921. Mosaic is one of the major diseases of lettuce (Lactuca sativu L.) in California. Diseases of concern for lettuce now being planted include Fusarium wilt, Sclerotinia drop, and bottom rot. Symptoms of Fusarium wilt, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lactucae, can appear on lettuce anytime after thinning. White mould inlettuce, Sclerotinia spp. is a distinctive disease that most often affects stems and foliage at the base of lettuce plants.Mean number plants with Sclerotiniasymptoms per m row Number of infected plants per plot. Untreated coral lettuce with Sclerotinia. Lettuce Drop. Scientific Name: Sclerotinia spp.Lettuce. Symptom: Wilting and rot of lower leaves, stem, then entire plant. White mycelia strands form on decayed areas.