Integrated Control of Clubroot

Clubroot caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae affects the Brassicaceae family of plants, including many important vegetable and broadacre crops. In the last 20 years increasing intensity of vegetable production and the rapid growth in popularity of oilseed rape as a broadacre or arable break crop have increased the severity of clubroot and the area of land affected in both the vegetable and broadacre industries. Resting spores of P. brassicae are long-lived in soil, but the number of spores can be reduced through crop rotation, fallowing, chemical application, and management of brassica weeds. The host-pathogen system is responsive to a range of control measures, including calcium and boron amendments, manipulation of soil pH, and fungicide application. Molecular tests have been developed to predict disease and resistant cultivars are available for some crops. Increasingly, a multifaceted or integrated approach is being used to manage clubroot. This approach has been particularly successful in vegetable production systems.