Onion - White Rot

Key Points:

1. Onion white rot is caused by a soil-borne fungus, Sclerotium cepivorum
   
   
2. White rot affects all Allium plants including onions, leeks, garlic, chives, shallots and salad onions
   
   
3. Leaves of infected plants show yellowing, dieback and wilting
   
   
4. As the disease progresses, the white fungal mass fills with many tiny black bodies - like poppy seeds - called sclerotia.
   The sclerotia are able to survive for at least 15 years in the soil even without a suitable host plant

Control measures:

• Good machinery and equipment hygiene
• Fungicides
• Reduced Irrigation
• Wider plant spacing

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