In Connecticut White Mold is caused by the fungus Sclerotinia sclerotium . The disease is favored by cool, moist weather during and after flowering.
Symptoms appear soon after bloom until harvest, and can also appear in storage.
The disease can kill the plant, greatly decrease yield, and can cause severe storage losses. Symptoms usually appear about 7 days after bloom, with a white cottony growth on the flower surface. Later, irregularly shaped water-soaked spots appear on stems, then on branches and leaves. Spots enlarge to become soft watery, slimy rots. Cottony fungus grows over these parts, then small, hard, black structures develop.