Compendium of Lettuce Diseases and Pests, Second Edition

Since the first edition of Compendium of Lettuce Diseases was published in 1997, consumer demand for more nutritious salad products has brought momentous changes in the types of lettuce produced and in the methods of cultivating them. These changes in what types of lettuce are grown and how they are produced have also brought new challenges to disease and pest management in lettuce production. Since publication of the first edition, many new diseases have been reported that threaten lettuce production.

Compendium of Lettuce Diseases and Pests, Second Edition, provides a comprehensive account of the diseases, pests, and abiotic disorders of all types of lettuce along with practical guidelines for their management. This compendium will be useful to plant pathologists, entomologists, breeders, seed company personnel, crop production specialists, growers, diagnosticians, students, regulatory personnel, crop consultants, educators, researchers, Extension personnel, and others involved in the diagnosis and management of lettuce diseases, pests, and disorders throughout the world.

The content of this new edition is significantly expanded and organized as follows:

•  The Introduction addresses lettuce production, lettuce breeding, applications of biotechnology and genomics to improve disease resistance, lettuce seed germination under stress, lettuce diseases and disorders, and lettuce-associated microbiota. It also identifies the food safety issues that have emerged as a major concern for the lettuce production industry since the mid-2000s.

•  Part I, Infectious Diseases, outlines types of pathogens and includes sections on diseases caused by fungi and oomycetes, bacteria, phytoplasmas, viruses, nematodes, and a parasitic plant. 

•  Part II, Arthropod Pests, is new to this edition and identifies 28 pests of lettuce in the classes Insecta, Symphyla, Arachnida, and Malacostraca. (The role of insects as vectors of viruses and phytoplasmas is discussed in Part I.) 

•  Part III, Injuries and Abiotic and Noninfectious Diseases and Disorders, includes sections on mineral deficiencies and toxicities, noninfectious physiological disorders, weather-related injury, ammonium toxicity, soil pH and salinity, and bird damage. A comprehensive table with related images reviews foliar symptoms of herbicide injury by herbicide family, mode of action, and chemical name and includes notes about related factors and prevention.

•  Part IV, Postharvest Diseases and Disorders, addresses bacterial soft rot, russet spotting, gray mold, brown stain, pink rib, and other diseases and disorders that affect harvested lettuce.

•  The appendix provides common names of diseases along with the pathogens that cause them, and the glossary and the index provide useful resources for readers.


The description of each disease includes a general overview of its importance and world distribution, the most diagnostic symptom or symptoms, the causal organism or agent, the disease cycle and epidemiology, strategies for management, and references that direct readers to additional information. The management strategies presented include all relevant and practical tactics; they apply to most lettuce production areas and can be used to develop integrated pest management (IPM) approaches. The text is illustrated with 209 images—most of them new to this edition.

Quantity discounts are available for easy distribution to field representatives and other experts at your organization; VIP clients/customers in the lettuce industry; colleagues in state and county Extension agencies; and fellow researchers and diagnosticians at your institution.