Controlling Sclerotinia in Pumpkins - summary (2020) 1 page

Sclerotinia disease (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum) causes significant losses to Saskatchewan’s commercial pumpkin growers, both in the field and during subsequent storage, handling and

marketing of the crop. The disease is widespread, persists in the soil for years and is not controlled by standard crop rotation.

In 2020 the Saskatchewan Vegetable Growers Association received support from the ADOPT Program of Saskatchewan Agriculture to demonstrate the potential to control losses to

sclerotinia by;

a) growing more disease tolerant pumpkin cultivars,

b) adopting growing methods that reduce crop susceptibility to Sclerotinia and,

c) by using biological control agents or new low risk fungicides to control the disease.