BULB ROT

widespread disease that can infect all flower and crop bulbs and is caused by a variety of fungi and a few bacteria. Shoots fail to emerge or leaves are stunted, yellow to reddish or purplish, and they later wilt and die; roots, usually few, are discoloured and decayed. The rot often starts at the bulb base (root plate), progressing upward and outward. Fungal rots are usually dry to spongy or powdery and moldy; bacterial rots are commonly moist, soft to mushy, and foul-smelling. The rot often progresses rapidly during storage in warm, humid places. The control of bulb rot includes the use of disease-free bulbs; proper planting; careful digging and rapid but thorough curing of bulbs before storage; use of varieties resistant to fungal rots; avoidance of overwatering, overcrowding, and overfertilizing; and rotation with nonbulb plants. Nurserymen frequently treat bulbs before sale, using a hot water-fungicide soak.