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Easter Lily Diseases

Name: Easter Lily Diseases
SKU: ART-4155

Informational table showing disease name, symptoms, pathogen/cause, and management of Easter Lily diseases.

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Updated:

November 21, 2023

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Disease	Symptoms	Pathogen/Cause	Management
Bulb Basal Rot	The basal plate is dark brown and dead. The bulb scales fall off.	Fusarium and Cylindrocarpon	Use pasteurized potting soil. Do not plant bulbs that have a rotted basal plate. Dip bulbs in a fungicide before planting.
Bulb Storage Rot	Bulb scales have brown spots and severe rot. Bulbs may be soft and covered with a blue-green mold or white fungal growth.	Bulbs harvested while still immature are attacked by Penicillium (blue mold) or Rhizopus (soft rot) fungi.	Do not plant affected bulbs.
Botrytis Blight	Oval to circular reddish-brown spots form on leaves. Brown spots develop on flowers.	Botrytis cinerea	Maintain humidity below 85%. Apply a fungicide to protect healthy plants.
Leaf Scorch	Semicircular dead areas develop along leaf margins and may engulf leaf tips.	Uncertain. Fluoride toxicity, mineral deficiency induced by root rots, and low soil pH have been implicated in scorch.	Avoid the use of superphosphate and other fluoride-containing fertilizers. Control root rots. Maintain a soil pH between 6.0 and 7.0.
Pythium Root Rot	Lower leaves yellow and die. Roots are limp and dark brown. Flowers abort.	Pythium	Use pasteurized potting soil. Drench potted bulbs with a fungicide. Or, apply a fungicide as a soil drench.
Rhizoctonia Stem Rot	The bulbs are yellow rather than the normal white. Stems and scales where the stem emerges develop a soft rot, causing the plant to topple.	Rhizoctonia	Use pasteurized potting soil. Drench potted bulbs with a fungicide. Repeat treatment as stated on the fungicide label.
Scale Tip Rot	The tips of the bulb scales turn tan or dark brown to black in color.	A complex interaction of Pseudomonas bacteria and the fungi Fusarium and Cylindrocarpon appears to be the cause.	Do not plant affected bulbs.
Twist	Leaves along the middle stem area twist while leaves above and below appear normal.	Uncertain. Pseudomonas may be involved.	None
Curl Stripe	Plants emerge later than normal. Soon after emerging, leaves twist and have white stripes. Tops are crooked. Mildly affected plants grow on and appear normal except for the lower leaves.	Lily symptomless virus (LSV)	No chemicals control a virus. Maintain the greenhouse aphid-free since LSV is carried by aphids from plant to plant.
Fleck	Short white lines develop on the leaves. The entire plant and flowers are stunted.	Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) in combination with LSV	No chemicals control a virus once the disease has begun. Maintain greenhouses aphid-free since CMV and LSV are carried by aphids from plant to plant.