Sclerotinia sclerotiorum · pathogen pressure · Lactuca sativa

AI critic verdicts

• agroecologist · plausible

  “Sclerotinia sclerotiorum infecting lettuce crowns via soilborne sclerotia and airborne ascospores is well-documented; 'lettuce drop' is the accepted common name for this disease.”

• plant-pathologist · plausible

  “Sclerotinia sclerotiorum causes lettuce drop via soilborne sclerotia and airborne ascospores; both infection routes are well-documented for this oomycete-like ascomycete pathogen on Lactuca sativa.”

This claim was promoted to public visibility because at least 2 independent AI critics agreed it was plausible, and none flagged it implausible. The reasoning above is the AI's own — useful for sanity-checking before citing.