Sclerotinia

Sclerotinia
	Sclerotinia sulcata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Ascomycota
Class:	Leotiomycetes
Order:	Helotiales
Family:	Sclerotiniaceae
Genus:	Sclerotinia; Fuckel (1870)
Type species
	Sclerotinia libertiana; Fuckel (1870)
Species
	see text

The fungus Sclerotinia spp. is commonly found in crop fields and farms due to its pathogenic behaviour.

Life Cycle

Sclerotinia spp. commonly form sclerotia, which are found in the soil, usually only up to 15 cm deep, and are hard masses of mycelium. For sclerotia, pH, temperature and moisture of the soil has little to no importance when it comes to sclerotia.^[1]

During the right season and when the temperature and moisture is right, sclerotia form apothecia. Which then leads to the creation of ascopores in the environment.^[2]

Then such ascopores infect leaves, stems and various parts of the crop,^[3] impeding the transportation of nutrients through the plant, and decomposing it.

Moisture and Temperature

Moisture tension and temperature interact to affect apothecial production. Apothecia and ascopores are produced from sclerotia if the top 2-3 cm of the soil is maintained saturated.^[3] The ascopores need moisture in the air at all times otherwise there will be no observation of infection at all.

Habitat

The genus of Sclerotinia usually contains species which are most often found in the soil in the form of sclerotia. Wet moist marshlands are populated with the genus.

Taxonomy

Sclerotinia is a genus of fungi in the family Sclerotiniaceae. The widely distributed genus contains over 250 species, both which contain pathogenic and non-pathogenic species in the genus^[4]

References

↑ Adams, P. B., and W. A. Ayers. "Ecology of Sclerotinia species." Phytopathology 69.8 (1979): 896-899.
↑ Sharma, Pankaj; Meena, P. D.; Verma, P. R.; Saharan, G. S.; Mehta, Naresh; Singh, Dhiraj; Kumar, Arvind (2016-01-29). "Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib) de Bary causing Sclerotinia rot in oilseed Brassicas: A review". Journal of Oilseed Brassica. 1 (2): 1–44. ISSN 2230-7753.
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 del Río, L. E.; Bradley, C. A.; Henson, R. A.; Endres, G. J.; Hanson, B. K.; McKay, K.; Halvorson, M.; Porter, P. M.; Le Gare, D. G.; Lamey, H. A. (2007-02). "Impact of Sclerotinia Stem Rot on Yield of Canola". Plant Disease. 91 (2): 191–194. doi:10.1094/PDIS-91-2-0191. ISSN 0191-2917. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
↑ Saharan, G. S.; Mehta, Naresh, eds. (2008), "The Pathogen – Sclerotinia", Sclerotinia Diseases of Crop Plants: Biology, Ecology and Disease Management, Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, pp. 77–111, doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-8408-9_7, ISBN 978-1-4020-8408-9, retrieved 2024-07-28

[1] Adams, P. B., and W. A. Ayers. "Ecology of Sclerotinia species." Phytopathology 69.8 (1979): 896-899.

[2] Sharma, Pankaj; Meena, P. D.; Verma, P. R.; Saharan, G. S.; Mehta, Naresh; Singh, Dhiraj; Kumar, Arvind (2016-01-29). "Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib) de Bary causing Sclerotinia rot in oilseed Brassicas: A review". Journal of Oilseed Brassica. 1 (2): 1–44. ISSN 2230-7753.

[:0-3] 3.0 ^3.1 del Río, L. E.; Bradley, C. A.; Henson, R. A.; Endres, G. J.; Hanson, B. K.; McKay, K.; Halvorson, M.; Porter, P. M.; Le Gare, D. G.; Lamey, H. A. (2007-02). "Impact of Sclerotinia Stem Rot on Yield of Canola". Plant Disease. 91 (2): 191–194. doi:10.1094/PDIS-91-2-0191. ISSN 0191-2917. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

[4] Saharan, G. S.; Mehta, Naresh, eds. (2008), "The Pathogen – Sclerotinia", Sclerotinia Diseases of Crop Plants: Biology, Ecology and Disease Management, Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, pp. 77–111, doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-8408-9_7, ISBN 978-1-4020-8408-9, retrieved 2024-07-28

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