First Report of Leaf Blight of Sugar Beet (Beta vulgaris) Caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum in Minnesota, U.S.A.

Abstract

Minnesota is the top sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) producing state in the United States. In 2020, sugar beet plants were observed for the first time in which the two to three oldest leaves had light brown to dark brown necrotic leaf lesions that eventually became yellow or brown and died but remained attached to the plant. Morphological data and sequences of internal transcribed spacer regions identified the pathogen as Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Because over 90% of the plants in identified fields were infected it was difficult to quantify loss in yield or quality caused by this disease. All fields with symptomatic plants had soybean or edible beans in the rotation. One field planted to several different varieties indicated that all the varieties were symptomatic. It will be useful to determine any economic loss caused by S. sclerotiorum and any known varietal resistance to this pathogen.

Proteomics analysis of the phytopathogenic fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum : a narrative review

“…[4,22,23] Recently, over 90% of sugar beet plants in Minnesota (USA) are infected with S. sclerotiorum , although the impact of the disease on yield and quality is difficult to estimate. [24] S. sclerotiorum diseases are difficult to control and cause increasing losses to economically important crops around the world. [25] Various reasons for the occurrence of this disease include but are not limited to (i) the lack of safe and effective fungicides, (ii) S. sclerotiorum has a unique life cycle that includes the development of survival structures (sclerotia) that are resistant to chemical and biological degradation, and (iii) the lack of sufficient data on the mechanism of action of its virulent factors.…”