In the field, white mold may first be evident as a wilting of leaves in the upper canopy. Leaves may have a gray-green or off-color and wilted appearance. Cankers may be evident on stems at the nodes. Initially these cankers are gray-green and water soaked. The cankers eventually turn brown to tan or even a bleached white with reddish-brown borders. White mold growth may be present on stems and may mat together infected leaves or even plants. Later in the season, the black sclerotia (small, hard black bodies of fungal material) may be found on the outside of the stems, in the center pith of stems and even in pods. These sclerotia can survive for years in the soil.

Management options for Sclerotinia stem rot include selecting resistant varieties, rotating crops with as least one year between soybean crops, not planting soybean after common bean, sunflower or other susceptible crops, planting seed that is free of sclerotia and maintaining good weed control.