Chrysanthemum Diseases

Disease Symptoms Pathogen/Cause Management

Ascochyta Ray Blight

Flower development is retarded on one side of the bud. Petals exhibit a brown discoloration. Browning Ascochyta and blackening extends (Mycosphaerella) down the stem, causing the flower to droop. Brown to black irregularly shaped spots develop on leaves.

Avoid overhead irrigation. Apply chlorothalonil, mancozeb, iprodione, or thiophanate methyl + mancozeb as a foliar spray.

Pinpoint dead spots Alternaria or develop on petals. These Stemphylium spots may not enlarge. If Speck enough spots are present, the entire flower dies. Cuttings turn dark brown and collapse. Surviving cuttings may be infected but have no symptoms. Established plants wilt during the day when infected and recover at night. Small dark brown to black spots on lower leaves enlarge and become irregular in shape. When infected leaves dry, the spots become brittle and crack. The disease often spreads up plants in one side of the pot, eventually to the flowers. Light brown spots form on lower petals. Browning spreads to other petals. Infected tissues become covered with dusty gray spores.

Alternaria or Stemphylium

Avoid overhead irrigation. Maintain greenhouse humidity below 98%. Apply chlorothalonil, fludioxonil, copper hydroxide, or mancozeb as a foliar spray. Purchase culture-indexed cuttings that are free of the pathogen. Disinfect propagation beds between crops. Destroy infected cuttings.

Bacterial Blight

Erwinia chrysanthemi

Bacterial Leaf Spot

Pseudomonas cichorii

Do not plant infected cuttings. Avoid overhead irrigation. Water in a manner that keeps leaf surfaces dry at all times. Protect plants grown outdoors from splashing.

Botrytis Blight

Botrytis cinerea

Maintain greenhouse humidity below 98% at all times. Apply chlorothalonil, copper, fludioxonil, iprodione, or mancozeb as a foliar spray. Purchase virus-indexed plants that are free of the pathogen. Destroy infected plants and

Chlorotic Mottle

Leaves, at first mottled, Chrysanthemum become completely yellow. chlorotic mottle Infected plants grown viroid

under low light conditions and when temperatures average less than 20C (69F) exhibit no symptoms. V-shaped yellow areas develop between the veins. These become water soaked, then brown and dry. Some cultivars are symptomless however.

disinfest tools used to handle them. Do not handle healthy chrysanthemums after handling infected plants. Purchase indexed cuttings free of the pathogen. Plant in pasteurized soil or soilless mix. Water in a manner that keeps plant surfaces dry. Remove and destroy infected plants and debris. Management: Purchase culture-indexed cuttings free of the pathogen. Plant in pasteurized soil or soilless mix free of the pathogen. Maintain soil pH between 6.5 and 7.0. Use nitrate rather than ammonium forms of fertilizer. Apply thiophanate methyl. Apply Ampelomyces, fenarimol, myclobutanil, piperalin, or triadimefon. Plant in pasteurized soil or soilless mix free of the pathogen. Apply etridiazole, metalaxyl, propamocarb, mefenoxam, or thiophanate methyl + etridiazole as a soil drench. Plant in pasteurized soil or a soilless mix free of the pathogen. Apply flutolanil, PCNB or thiophanate methyl + etridiazole as a soil drench. Purchase virus-indexed plants that are free of the pathogen. Destroy infected plants and disinfest tools used to handle them. Do not handle healthy chrysanthemums after handling infected plants.

Foliar Nematode

Aphelenchoides ritzema-bosi or A. fragariae

Fusarium Wilt

Symptoms vary with the cultivar infected. Yellowing of leaves, Fusarium wilting, and discoloration oxysporum of the vascular tissue develops up one side of the plant.

Powdery Mildew

Leaves have white, dry fungal growth on their surfaces.

Erysiphe cichoracearum

Pythium Root and Stem Rot

Stems turn dark brown to black at the soil line. Plants Pythium are stunted, wilt, and die. Outer parts of the root brown and strip off. Young infected plants wilt during the day and recover at night. Reddish-brown dead areas develop at the soil line and girdle the plant.

Rhizoctonia Stem Rot

Rhizoctonia solani

Stunt

Symptoms vary with the cultivar infected. Young leaves are light green and very upright. Plants are Chrysanthemum stunted to half their normal stunt viroid height at maturity. Infected plants flower prematurely and flower size is reduced.

Some cultivars exhibit small dead spots or flecks on the leaves. The margins of lower leaves wilt and die. Or, the entire leaf dies. Symptoms proceed up one side of the plant. Plant in pasteurized soil or soilless mix free of the pathogen.

Verticillium Wilt

Verticillium

Fungicides mentioned above: COMMON NAME Ampelomyces quisqualis chlorothalonil copper etridiazole fenarimol fludioxonil flutonanil iprodione mancozeb mancozeb + copper mefenoxam metalaxyl myclobutanil PCNB piperalin propamocarb thiophanate methyl thiophanate methyl + etridiazole thiophanate methyl + mancozeb triadimefon TRADE NAME AQ10 (biological control agent) Daconil 2787, Exotherm Termil Phyton 27, Kocide, Camelot, Basicop, Nu-Cop Truban Rubigan Medallion Contrast Chipco 26019 Dithane, Mancozeb Junction Subdue Maxx Subdue Systhane Terraclor, Defend Pipron Banol Clearys 3336 Banrot Duosan, Zyban Bayleton, Strike