Evaluation of Alternatives to Soil Fumigants and Diallyl Disulfide for the

Management of White Rot

Jeremiah K.S. Dung1, Plant Pathology Assistant Professor; Thomas A. Turini2, Advisor; & Robert
G. Wilson3, Director & Advisor. 1Department of Botany & Plant Pathology, Central Oregon
Agricultural Research Center, Oregon State University, Madras, OR; 2University of California
Cooperative Extension, Fresno, CA; 3Intermountain Research and Extension Center, University
of California, Tulelake, CA

White rot is a major disease of onion and garlic and is caused by the fungus Sclerotium
cepivorum. The fungus is spread by small sclerotia produced on decayed bulbs and roots and as
few as one sclerotium per liter of soil can result in significant crop losses. Control of white rot is
difficult because sclerotia can survive in fields for over 20 years, remaining dormant in the
absence of Allium hosts. Today, thousands of acres are infested with white rot in CA. White rot
is also a major problem for onion and garlic seed and bulb production in the Pacific Northwest
and the Allium industry in the western U.S. is threatened by white rot. White rot-resistant
cultivars of garlic and onion are not currently available and growers lack effective control
options.

Sclerotia germination stimulants offer great potential for managing white rot. White rot is a
disease limited to Allium crops because sclerotia germinate only in response to sulfur-
containing compounds released from Allium roots. If these compounds can be applied to
the soil in the absence of an Allium crop, the sclerotia will germinate, exhaust their energy
reserves without a host, and die. Soil treatment with diallyl-disulfide (DADS) were shown to
reduce sclerotia populations by over 90%, but unfortunately the small number of remaining
sclerotia were often still sufficient to cause unacceptable disease levels at harvest. A
commercial product containing DADS was registered for use as a sclerotia germination
stimulant in 1992 but is no longer available for various reasons, including high product cost
and unreliability in satisfactory disease control. Research using natural or synthetic Allium
compounds as sclerotia germination stimulants has become a high priority since DADS is no
longer commercially available.

Several University of California (UC) experiments over the last decade evaluated the efficacy
and crop safety of fungicides for white rot control in onions. The majority of the studies
evaluated different fungicides, fungicide rates, and fungicide application times. The fungicide
tebuconazole was the most effective active ingredient for suppression of white rot.
Penthiopyrad provided similar or slightly less suppression of white rot compared to
tebuconazole. Tank mixing both fungicides had a slight additive effect on white rot suppression
compared to using either product individually in multiple UC trials. The most effective fungicide
application method was in-furrow at planting and results consistently showed fungicides
increase onion yield and decrease the incidence and severity of white rot on harvested onion
bulbs. Unfortunately, fungicides alone did not consistently suppress white rot at a level that
prevents economic loss, especially in soils with high sclerotia populations.

Fungicides and sclerotia germination stimulants used individually have not reduced white rot
symptoms to a point that a profitable crop (<15% bulbs showing symptoms) can consistently be
produced in infested soil, especially if soil inoculum densities are high. For this reason, it was
decided to test a two-prong approach using germination stimulants to reduce soil inoculum
density the year before growing onions and a fungicide applied in-furrow when planting the
onion crop. Results from several years of UC experiments at Tulelake’s Intermountain Research
and Extension Center were quite promising, often resulting in significant reductions in white rot
symptoms on onion bulbs treated with DADS and tebuconazole compared to the non-treated
control. Additionally, marketable yields were often increased to levels (24 tons/A) that would
be acceptable to many growers, especially in white rot infested ground.

Collaborative research projects between UC and Oregon State University (OSU) are currently
underway to evaluate the efficacy and feasibility of using Allium byproducts as white rot
sclerotia germination stimulants. Rob Wilson (UC), Tom Turini (UC), and Jeremiah Dung (OSU)
are testing a garlic juice, garlic oil, and other potential germination stimulants at rates much
greater than previous tests to determine if high rates can provide similar efficacy compared to
DADS. We are also evaluating new fungicides for their ability to suppress white rot.
Concurrently, Dr. Michael Qian (OSU) is analyzing and screening sulfur compounds present in
different Allium byproducts to identify potentially new germination stimulants and establish the
dose-response relationships. Our long-term goal is to develop an IPM strategy for managing
white rot in onions and garlic that will allow growers to produce a profitable Allium crop on
land infested with white rot. These projects are funded by the California Garlic and Onion
Research Advisory Board and the California Department of Pesticide Regulation.