Occurrence of Sclerotinia rot and Botrytis gray mould on lettuce under protected conditions in Himachal Pradesh

Two new diseases on lettuce (Lectuca sativa) grown under protected conditions in the Department of Vegetable Science, Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, HP were reported and described for the first time in the region. The diseases were identified as Sclerotinia rot also known as lettuce drop and another Botrytis gray mould. The disease incidence of Sclerotinia rot and Botrytis gray mould was observed to be 0 to 68 per cent and 0 to 35 per cent respectively in different polyhouses at Nauni. The pathogens associated with these diseases were isolated in pure culture on PDA and identified. Two species of Sclerotinia namely S minor and S sclerotiorum were found associated with Sclerotinia rot and the pathogen causing gray mould was identified as Botrytis cinerea. Both the diseases are reported and described for the first time under protected conditions in Himachal Pradesh.