Abstract
Garlic is horticultural commodity which has very high economic value in Indonesia. Garlic is usually used as a cooking spice, for medicines as well as for cosmetic ingredients. However, Indonesian garlic production is very limited and only supplies at most 17.5% of domestic demand. The province of West Nusa Tenggara (WNT) is one of the largest garlic producing regions in Indonesia where it is mostly grown in the Sembalun highlands of Eastern Lombok (1200 m above sea level). Recently, garlic cultivation in WNT Province is facing an increasing problem of white rot disease. Therefore, it is beneficial to identify the symptom and sign of the disease in the field, investigate the pathogen that associated with the disease, and exploring possible strategies to control the disease. This research was conducted in July -September 2019. Samples were collected from diseased garlic crop in the Sembalun highlands and laboratory analysis was conducted at the Microbiology Laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, Mataram University, Indonesia. The symptom of white rot disease was leaf yellowing started at the age of 75-80 days after sowing and the sign was the fungus with white mycelium on garlic bulbs and formation of sclerotia around the bulbs. Further identification in the laboratory found that the fungi has white mycelium and produced sclerotia. It is indicated that the fungus is the species of Sclerotium cepivorum. In addition, some controlling strategies were proposed to handle the pathogen, such as seed coating treatment, application of antagonistic fungi, and chemical control as the last option.