Southern blight is a severe disease of vegetables that favors warm and wet weather common to production in the Southeast. The disease is caused by the soilborne fungus Athelia rolfsii (synonymous with Sclerotium rolfsii), which has a broad host range of over 1,200 plants. Since the phaseout of methyl bromide, outbreaks of southern blight have increased on tomato, pepper and cucurbit crops.
