Symptom

• The stems develop water-soaked spots which later may be covered with a cottony white growth.
• As the disease progresses, affected portions of the stem develop a bleached appearance, and eventually the tissues shred.
• Girdling of the stem results in premature ripening and in lodging of plants.
• Hard black bodies, the sclerotia, are formed inside the stem and occasionally on the stem surface. Basal stalk infections rarely occur.
• Yield loss of 10 to15% has occurred in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and North Dakota; occasionally losses of 50% have occurred in Manitoba

• Use crop rotation; do not plant highly susceptible crops more than once in four years, including dry edible beans, sunflowers, mustard and canola. Use at least a five year rotation for severely infested fields.
• Avoid planting next to a field that had severe Sclerotinia in the past four or five years. Control broad-leaved weeds.
• Plant thoroughly cleaned seed. Avoid dense stands of canola.