600 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. XXXI, No. 7 
closely crowded together and take up most of the space in the hollow 
or semihollow regions. 
In hampers of green beans and peas it is not uncommon to find 
the pods covered and joined together by the white, cottony mycelium, 
which grows luxuriantly in the humid atmosphere in the center of 
the container. This “nested” condition is common in wet seasons 
when field conditions are favorable for infection and development of 
the fungus. Hampers which contain only a few affected pods at 
time of shipment may show a relatively high percentage of infection 
and decay upon arrival at market. After selecting at random 42 
cars of green beans, which on inspection at market showed Sclero- 
tinia decay, it was found that the percentage of infection ranged 
from 5 per cent in some cars to as high as 75 per cent in others, the 
average for all the cars being 24 per cent. Random selection of 12 
cars of green peas showed an average of 20 per cent infection and 
decay caused by Sclerotinia. 
All of the common root crops, such as parsnip, salsify, turnip, 
rutabaga, and carrot are affected in about the same manner. The 
soft, watery, odorless decay is produced; and if the host tissue is 
white, as in parsnips, salsify, and turnips, a slightly pinkish color is 
often quite noticeable on the margin of the lesion, while the inner 
portion of the lesion is pale brown and water-soaked. The pink dis¬ 
coloration is also sometimes evident in celery, cabbage, and cauli- . 
flower. 
In Table I are listed the most important truck crops that are sub- 
a to the attacks of Sclerotinia, and the States which ship the 
of these products. This table shows that the fungus has a wide 
host range and that it is found wherever truck crops are grown. 
Several hosts of minor economic importance, such as cress, escarole, 
mangel, and others, are not included. The tomato fruit is also 
omitted because of the absence of an authentic record of the oc¬ 
currence of Sclerotinia decay of tomatoes on the market, although 
the tomato fruit is very susceptible to decay when inoculated with 
all strains and species of Sclerotinia which the writer had under 
observation. In 1918, watery soft rot was reported in two cars of 
Florida tomatoes by the food products inspectors, but as it has 
never been found since then there may be some doubt as to the 
correctness of the diagnosis. 
Tomatoes grown under glass are more liable to infection by Scle¬ 
rotinia than those grown in the open field. McClintock {21) reported 
a fruit rot due to Sclerotinia libertiana , and Dickson (11) has reported 
a wilt of tomato plants in the greenhouse, on soil previously cropped 
to lettuce which had suffered an attack of “drop.” A blossom 
blight of tomatoes in Albany County, N. Y., was also reported to the 
Plant Disease Survey in 1920 by H. W. Fitch. The causal organism 
in each of these cases was apparently S. libertiana . In April, 1923, 
W. A. Orton and A. C. Foster found tomato plants near Sanford, 
Fla., which were affected with a sclerotia-forming fungus, and 
material sent to the writer showed numerous small, irregular black 
sclerotia in the pith regions of the stems. Cultural and cross-inocula¬ 
tion work indicates that this organism is identical with S. minor , 
which is reported by Jagger ( 18 ) to affect lettuce in that locality. 
