Infected plants will often break at the upper part of the crown when lifted from the soil. When cut lengthwise, the crown appears brown or sometimes rose pink throughout. Crown tissue will disintegrate with time. Below ground symptoms do not appear until the aboveground plant parts are dead. Plants may recover from the disease but are usually stunted.
Symptoms are most common between flowering and harvest when the plants are under stress.
Persistence And Transmission. Warm, wet conditions and poorly drained soils favor infection. Symptom development is favored by high temperatures and low moisture conditions, factors that apparently stress the plant before harvest. Avoid low, wet fields and fields with a history of crown ro t. Use chemicals only according to the directions on the label. Follow all directions, precautions, and restrictions that are listed.